#i unironically didn’t know this for far too long

[genevievive]

when was someone gonna tell me derry, the fictional city where stephan king’s it is set; is a different city than derry, northern ireland.

[sarahghetti]

there's only one bed; m.k.

pairing: marc spector x reader, steven grant x reader, jake lockley x reader

summary: how the boys handle the "there's only one bed" situation.

warnings: mild angst.

moon knight masterlist | all masterlists

marc

ironically suggests building a wall out of pillows.

“how am I supposed to know that you aren’t going to latch on to me in the middle of the night?” he raises an eyebrow, the mirth in this voice betraying his otherwise serious expression.

you groan, shoving him playfully as he laughs. “just go to bed, marc.”

generally, he takes no issue with the situation—you’re both adults here, you can act like ones too. he takes the side closest to the door and faces away from you from the start.

falls asleep as fast as he usually does unless you’re being really disruptive, in which case he’ll just say your name as a warning without even bother to turn over to look at you.

for all his jokes, when morning comes, he’s the one who latched on to you.

marc stirs awake with his arms wrapped around something warm and a sweet smell in his nose. he doesn’t process it right away, and ends up pulling you closer to fill in the gap between you.

you shift in your sleep, the movement waking him up a little more, and that’s when the realization hits him like a truck.

he rapidly blinks his eyes into focus. while sleeping, he’d travelled across the bed to curl around your back, holding you close to his chest with one arm snaked under your neck, the other around your waist.

immediately, he tries to slip away but to no avail as you grab at his arms and press back into him, sighing contently.

despite how marc might feel for you, he doesn’t let himself enjoy the moment for a second. excuses pile on doubts pile on insecurities, and he proceeds to lay there, perfectly still, mind a whirring mess as you doze away in his arms.

this isn’t his life. he hasn’t felt this way for anyone in who-knows-how-long that he didn’t realize just how much he yearned for the connection, the contact until now.

when you finally wake up, he gives no indication as to what’s going on in his head as he gently untangles himself and sits up. no matter what reaction you have towards him cuddling you, all you get is an apologetic little smile that doesn’t reach his eyes before he starts talking about the day ahead.

as if he hasn’t felt so rested in years. as if he were unaffected by it all, by you, and wouldn’t be thinking about this for nights to come.

steven

unironically suggests building a wall out of pillows.

when you furrow your brows at him, really?, he starts fidgeting on the spot.

“I’m just saying!” steven raises his hands in defense, face flushing a deeper and deeper red the longer you look at him. it takes everything in you not to smile, but ultimately, you can’t help it. “oh, you—you’re absolutely terrible, you know that?”

he keeps going as you both settle into bed because you can’t help but giggle in response, which only makes him playfully insult you some more, which makes you laugh, and the feedback loop goes on for a while until you’re both under the covers, grinning at each other in the dark.

it’s quiet now, and you think that it’s time for both of you to turn in for the night when he pipes up— “seriously though, should we start gathering pillows or are you good?”

your cheeks hurt; you can’t do this again. “god, steven!”

“what!”

it takes a bit for either of you to fall asleep after that, but you stay facing each other as you do.

steven opens his eyes the next morning and sees your face far, far closer than you were last night, your noses lightly pressed together along with the rest of your bodies.

his arms hold you close, and your hands are gently fisted into the front of his shirt. one of his legs is trapped between your own.

“oh.” steven can’t help but to take the opportunity to admire you, especially since it’s not like he’s going to be moving anytime soon. the way the light catches in your hair, the slow rise and fall of your chest, the heat of your breath against his skin.

he has half a mind to go back to sleep; he’s so relaxed just from laying here with you.

when you finally stir awake, he holds his breath, waiting to see how you react.

“morning,” you smile, and don’t pull away.

that sends his poor heart into overdrive, and he just barely manages to reply, “morning.”

you’re unexpectedly cuddling in bed, yet neither of you are willing to move. it’s a shift in your relationship, you can feel it with every brush of his finger against your back, and with the way he’s looking at you—he knows this, too.

the sentiment hangs in the air, daring either of you to mention it until you finally throw caution into the wind. your voice is barely above a whisper. “I’m kinda glad we didn’t build that wall.”

the smile he gives you is warmer than the sun streaming through the curtains, and you think, yeah, you could get used to this.

jake

immediately turns to waggle his eyebrows at you suggestively, which makes you snort.

“get your head out of the gutter, lockley.” you roll your eyes, but smile despite yourself.

he doesn’t cause too much of a fuss after that, and you both quietly settle in soon after.

he’s flat on his back, eyes closed, so still that you think he’s already out for the night. just as you start to drift off, his voice cuts through the silence.

“if you get cold, just let me know.” his tone is innocent but you know better, especially when the smirk on his face is very much the opposite.

you kick him under the covers, and fall asleep with his laughter ringing in your mind.

jake wakes up in the same position except with a line of warmth all along his side and something tickling his neck.

when he looks down to see your head on his chest, hair splayed out and arm wrapped around his middle, he grins.

it’s stupid and cheesy but he can’t help himself—how could he? this is everything he’s ever dreamed of, and he’s going to bask in it while the moment lasts.

and it’s not about being close to just anyone, it’s about being close to you.

because he might joke around a lot and come off as brash at times, but there’s a genuineness behind it all—his true feelings always left unsaid or veiled behind several layers of sarcasm and wit.

so, yeah, maybe he has a bit of himself to blame for the fact that your relationship remains at a standstill, barely veering on the precipice of something more because jake’s too scared to admit any of his actual feelings.

but he’s bolder now as you slumber, shushing you softly when you nearly stir awake. “it’s still early, cariño, go back to sleep.”

he traces patterns into your back to try to lull you back to sleep, and while it is relaxing, something sticks out in your mind.

“what did you just call me?” you mumble, not even bothering to open your eyes.

jake goes quiet for a while, hand still moving absentmindedly against your skin before finally responding.

“cariño.”

he’s used that endearment with you before, and always with that smirk of his. you blow the air out of your mouth, a skeptical pffff.

“yeah, okay.” but you’re fighting against a smile anyway, trying to hide it into his chest.

jake doesn’t call you out on it for once and just holds you tighter, memorizing the scene with every fibre of his being before you both inevitably have to get up.

one day, he thinks—one day he’ll call you that, and you’ll smile and believe him.

[hey-august]

Buggys dickhead being just as red as his nose is something I unironically approve of because:

A: It’s always fun to give him something that makes him feel like a freak (derogatory), but his partner loves about him because he’s such a cute little freak (affectionate, worshipping, head over heels „I don’t have to fear to be different around you because you are different too and I love you“ in love with him). Meaning both comedy and fluff options are real high with this

B: The fucking potential you could have with the sexual teasing are you kidding me? It’s silly as fuck but also kinda…He at first doesn’t know how to feel about it because he always feels like his partner is gonna jump up and go“ YOU FOOL! TWAS AN ELABORATE RUSE ALL ALONG!“ when they do it but…. Goddamn if the way they suddenly make eating red cough drops of all things doesn’t make him harder than he thinks it could. Just putting the candy between their middle and index finger and giving it a long, overly salacious lick while making eye contact before just popping it into their mouth. They put a bag of cherry lollipops on the grocery list for the next town they dock at and he already has a Pavlovian response just reading that. „I got you those candy apples you wanted.“ „Thank you Cabaji! I was having some real… cravings …you know?“ „We know.“ „Seriously I love that hot red , sweet, sensual glaze soooo much. It’s the best. I would put it in my mouth in its entirety but it’s just soooo big-„ „HiCabajiByeCabajiIneedASecondAloneWithThemBye!“ Everyone’s so done with those two. Give that unicyclist a raise honestly.

Oh. My. GoodNESS. YUP. I am here for this. I absolutely get wanting to bestow this extra oddness onto Buggy…he’s just so fun to mess with and to love on. And I adore the whole “we’re two weirdos in love” thing. It’s both fucked up and pure. 🖤

Plus the way this would just add to the relationship?? UGH. Buggy would have tried his damnedest to keep you from seeing that extra bit of shame. No lights on during sex. In fact, let’s fuck under the blankets.

Oh, a blow job? He’s not one to turn that down, but how can he get it in your mouth without you seeing it? A blindfold? It would only work if you agreed and this is not the moment to bring that up. Things are moving too fast and you’re practically salivating. You actually are. You’re drooling and fuck- “My dick is red.”

He didn’t even get to say it before you exposed the extra hue. And the poor clown, not only is his nose and the tip of his dick a bright red, but so are his cheeks and that blush is spreading fast. But faster than that, is your mouth on him. Did he know red is your favorite color?

And sure, it definitely takes a lot of time for Buggy to accept that you do like it. Love it. Adore it. That you aren’t planning to fuck with him, but you want to worship him. To worship his entire body.

And to tease him. Definitely tease him. The poor crew, but it’s just so fun to mess with Buggy. He gets flustered far too easily.

We all know about strawberries and whipped cream, but what about strawberries and sweetened condensed milk? The creamy liquid dripping on a bright red strawberry. The way you lick the sticky substance soooo slowly while staring at Buggy. The little string that trails from the fruit to your mouth. The explosion in his pants looks exactly like that damn strawberry.

Maybe when you’re done with that little snack, you’ll be in the mood for something with a bit more body.

[sanjisblackasswife]

i can’t remember if you did an nsfw alphabet for geto yet so if not can we get himm??🫶🏾

Suguru Geto NSFW Alphabet

Black Fem Reader in mind

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Such a clingy baby, but also a very clean baby. He has a personal drawer filled with clean towels, snacks, and just like his best friend a mini fridge as well filled with refreshments. Suguru loves having you cock warm him for a moment. He swears his intentions are innocent.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He isn’t biased about any part of his body. He takes care of his self very well physically .

He’s a butt/thigh guy when it comes to the sexual part, but your eyes are what always captivated him. Eye contact is always a must for when he makes love to you.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Another clean guy, but when it comes to sex he can be a bit messy depending if he wants to take his time with you or completely ruin your cute little body. If he isn’t cumming inside a condom or you he enjoys pouring his seed on your gummy slit, toying the tip of his cock on your clit.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Geto had sex with you while Gojo watched. Back when all three of you roomed together shortly after high school, You and your boyfriend were in your room being horny rabbits, & u were too busy cumming under him you didn’t notice your loud white haired friend run into the room to see what you both were doing because he was bored, Geto always had a small competition with his best friend on how well the other had sex so instead of telling him to get out he picked up the pace of fucking you.

That would explain why you came 4 times that night and why Gojo was much nicer towards you after that.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Yes. Geto has had a decent amount of experience with past girlfriends before you. He doesn’t believe in one night stands he holds himself in a higher standard but back in high school he had a good amount of girlfriends to know what to do.

He is unironically better at sex than Gojo.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

He loves and I mean loves

Missionary.

Now it may seem vanilla or simple for some but it’s how he executes it. He has actually made you more flexible when putting you on your back and throwing your legs either on his shoulders or move them far apart

Your legs are spread so widely it looks like you’re hitting the splits. He also loves just looking at your entire body, the way you try to contain your breast from shaking, the way you avoid his gaze, your panting face, Geto loves looking at you.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He is pretty serious in making sure you both cum. A few sly remarks here or there but once the clothes come completely off he is focused on his one goal.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Hes such a trimmed Boy, he does grow hair fast down there so some days he will forget to shave it down but if you don’t mind it he’ll keep his happy trail until it bothers him

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Him and Nanami are the top 2 men that can be absolutely heart aching with hot romantic they can be. There was one in which you haven’t seen him in a few months due to you needing to go on some life threatening missions. When you came back safe and sound Geto completely spoiled you all night. Slow kissing, putting your pleasure before his, his long silky hair dragging over your naked panting body drove you insane but it was a night to remember

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

When he was younger he did it plenty, but now that he is with you and doesn’t have any time to do so besides in the shower he doesn’t do it much.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

….he’s very open with his many kinks so imma narrow it down to like 3

Somnophilia: He loves Waking up to your needy little body milking his cock for all he is worth because you just couldn’t wait for him to wake up. He doesn’t play with you too much as you sleep but best believe some of the best mornings with Suguru are the ones where he wakes you up with an orgasm

Role Play: He gets SO into his role. He really enjoys the “Meeting a Stranger at a Bar” roleplay, and at first you wasn’t into it, but now you’ve became so good at playing the fake married woman you guys do it at least once a month and end up having such ravish sex either in an alley or a hotel

Denial Play: This man is a bit of a Sadist …if you can handle it he will edge you to no end. There was only once you pissed him off so to the point he tied you up just to edge you and didn’t let you get off

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

He isn’t a very public sex kinda guy. He doesn’t want anybody (except Gojo that one or more times). He wants to keep you to himself so really anywhere in the house

He specifically loves shower sex, both of your hot bodies hitting the cold tile wall as his fingers slide inside your cunt will never not get this man off

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Hes a sucker for a “bummy” look. Lingerie is of course going to turn him on, but when he sees you walk around the house in a big shirt w nothing under, some shorts and the shirt is falling off the shoulder. Anything like that is a tease for him because he knows you’re not being intentional to look sexy but you have been in a few situations where you bent over to grab something and next thing you know Suguru’s hard on was right on your ass

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He would never do stuff like pissing on you, or humiliating you. He actually is a kink shaker btw

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

His tongue will ruin your entire well being. His favorite pastime is you sitting on his face or 69 while a movie is playing. Though Sometimes you forget to suck his cock because he’s licking you way too good. Suguru is a VERY intimate pussy Water and when your see him tie his hair in a bun he is about to be down there for a while

You sucking his cock is the best stress reliever. He does love eating you more than getting head but some days when he is just annoyed or drained you always have a 6th sense to know any begin working on his Dick. You have to be careful because sometimes he’d end up face fucking you

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

His default is a normal set pace, not too rough, occasional smacks and gentle hair tugs but he only goes by the pace YOUR BODY wants.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Does not like them he prefers to take his time. The only quickies y’all have done would be in the shower or oral sex. Either than that if you’re needy and time is crunched you’ll have to wait it out

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He doesn’t mind trying new things that you are comfortable with, but always only once before he decides whether or not to do it again.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Oh homeboy can go all night if y’all take enough breaks. He loves your body and though he isn’t a needy person like you, when he starts having sex HE DOESNT want to stop. It can go from rough, to slow to lazy to rough again all in one evening so if you’re up for it he is.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He owns some handcuffs but only uses them when he is annoyed with you. You never can use it on him though. You did once and overstimmed him so badly he cried.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Speaking of crying, you have done it a lot w his teasing

As Long as he can be when fucking he can be cold blooded.

Touching your most private areas in public, whispering in your ear how badly he wants to bend you over while at the mall, the list goes on

He can get you so close to an orgasm and stop just to prove a point he has that much self control

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Groaner and grunter but the best moans you’ve ever heard was from when your legs were on his shoulders. He felt all of you and kept making such pretty noises in your ear. You swear you could have came from that alone while he was kissing your neck saying “So good y/n you’re so good…”

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

He is so disrespectful when playing board games. He always ends up with the most money, best cards, whatever it’s almost as if he cheats (Gojo’s words).

Also, he can write very beautiful Haikus. You’ve read a few and his way with words are so enchanting and descriptive

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Hes bigger than Gojo

About 5.8-6.9 he is a big boy, he’s very thick so best believe you feel a stretch when he bottoms out

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

He can go weeks without sex or not he doesn’t really care, but if he is horny he is HORNY he cannot control himself. You usually initiate sex but if he wants it badly he is going to be on you like white on rice.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

After a nice bath and clean sheets he holds you and just listens to you speak. He will hum a few times to let you know he is awake but once you start to yawn he will adjust himself to face you and caress your tired face to get you to sleep.

And that’s when he can sleep soundly

[ellewritesandrants]

I know a few people have done the Billy has an allergy AU but here’s my take on it. Just a warning that I have no experience with peanut allergies, only seasonal based ones so I may not have the most accurate interpretation of it.

Billy Hargrove’s always been just lucky enough to count his blessings but never lucky enough to consider himself blessed. Case in point, his mom left him but he still had his dad. However, his dad was an abusive piece of shit who didn’t believe in anything science said which meant that every time he got sick after his mom left, the only thing he had to heal him was the power of prayer.

Neil was the kind of bastard who believed that him getting sick was a punishment for being bad so Billy didn’t get to take any rest days, didn’t get to take any medicine unless it was in secret and he didn’t even get to go to the doctor unless he absolutely had to and even then, it was a battle and half before, during and after.

Neil was also the kind of bastard to believe that allergies didn’t exist and that they could be trained away if Billy wasn’t such a pansy. From the moment his 1st grade teacher sent him home with a note about an allergic reaction he had to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich his mom had packed him, Billy had been doomed to a life of exposure therapy, with Neil going so far as to use it as his favorite form of punishment. It might have even worked had it been done right but the way Neil weaponized his allergy made it into a form of torture instead.

When Susan and Max came into his life, Neil was quick to say that peanut butter was one of Billy’s favorite spreads and that he loved peanuts. Every time Susan made something with peanut butter, Billy had to be polite and respectful. He had to eat his portion to respect the effort Susan had put in even if it made his eyes itch and his throat swell. Billy was just lucky that it wasn’t deadly or else he’d have long been gone.

Billy had gotten used to it, even daring to find some tricks that helped it be easier for him to deal with it but unlike the others, he never outgrew his allergy even with his somewhat constant exposure to peanuts. Over time, it never got any easier but life had to go on.

All in all, if asked, Billy would say he has a pretty good handle on it on a day to day basis. He managed to avoid them whenever possible outside of the house and he lives after every time Neil forces him to finish whatever peanut butter filled abomination Susan made for dessert under the guise of pleasing everyone since Max unironically loved anything peanut.

Things got a lot easier when he was able to move out and support himself because even if he was poor, at least he didn’t have to be in pain anymore. He even managed to cook all of his own meals now that he had control so he wouldn’t trigger his allergies. When he and Steve had moved in together, he’d made sure to take over cooking and Steve never noticed the lack of anything peanut related in their house since Billy also did the grocery shopping.

Billy had never felt the need to tell anyone else about his allergies because he was able to avoid it anyway plus Neil would tan his hide if Billy spread that he had an allergy like a wimp. Even after he moved out, he just graciously accepted whatever peanut filled thing was given to him, all too used to pretending he didn’t feel his throat swell and his heart start to pound.

It had been a good year and a half since he moved out and for the first time in a long time, he hadn’t had his allergies triggered. He was feeling good and happy and with his birthday coming up and with Neil long gone out of town, Billy was looking forward to it for once.

It all came crashing down as soon as he had his first bite of the cake. Steve and Joyce had gone all out, even deciding to bake the cake instead of buying it. Billy could taste the staggering amount of peanuts crammed into the cake and the sheer amount had his allergic reaction going on overdrive.

He didn’t have the time to control his choking or gasping for breath and be could only watch as the faces of joy and laughter turned into terror and panic. He could vaguely hear Joyce asking Will to get his Epipen but even that was fading in and out. His ears were buzzing and his head was spinning. He hadn’t had such a bad allergic reaction in years and of course, it would be to a homemade cake made by the people he loved who had no idea about his allergy.

Thankfully, he was just lucky enough to survive even with them bringing him to the hospital as soon as possible. The EpiPen Will had gotten had possibly saved him from going into anaphylactic shock and Billy had woken up to a completely filled hospital room full of worried and tired faces.

“Mom, look! Billy’s awake!” Will exclaimed.

Joyce startled awake, clutching his hand, tears building in her eyes.

“Thank God you’re alright, Billy.”

“How long was I out?”

A warm hand fell to his shoulder but it was a familiar warmth.

“It was just a day but you had us all worried, son.” Hopper said.

“Why?”

“Why? You almost died, Billy. If Will hadn’t gotten his EpiPen when he did, you might’ve been dead. Why did you tell us you had a peanut allergy, babe? Especially one this bad.”

“Neil believes that allergies are for pansies and that you can train them away with constant exposure so he told Susan and Max that I loved peanuts.”

“That fucking bastard!” Joyce snarled.

“What? How did you get through mom’s desserts then?” Max wondered out loud.

“Ice water, a prayer and a few tricks from some books I read. I haven’t triggered it in a year or so since I moved out so it must’ve been detrained or something.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, babe.”

“Well, we won’t know until I ask the doctor. When’d they say that I’d be free to go home?”

“The doctor said you could go today if they finish running the last few tests to make sure you’re fully recovered, but not without an EpiPen of your own.”

“It’s not like it was my choice, Joyce!”

“Still! That Neil Hargrove better stay away from me because the next time I see him, I’ll give him a good kick in the balls and see how he likes that.” Joyce declared.

“And I’ll pretend I heard nothing. Now, I don’t think this was the birthday you were hoping for but once you’re free, we can have a do-over. Does that sound good to you, Billy?” Hopper asked.

“Sure! I’d never say no to another party.”

“Yeah, but this time peanuts are strictly banned. Out of curiosity, is there anything else that you’re allergic to?”

“Well, I don’t really do all that well with dairy if you get my drift. Sometimes, gluten makes my stomach hurt so I tend to eat pretty healthy as a result.”

“We’ll take note of that for the party. Focus on your recovery for now, baby. Don’t think I can’t see you struggling to keep your eyes open. Go to sleep, Billy. We’ll all still be here when you wake up.”

“M’kay. Love you and everyone too. Thanks for being here.”

While Billy is asleep, every peanut product in the Byer-Hopper and Hargrove-Harrington household was summarily thrown out by the Party and Steve put Dustin to work researching gluten free and dairy free recipes for the party they’d be throwing. Everyone was once again made aware of everyone’s allergies just to make sure they didn’t accidentally trigger anyone else.

The party was a huge success and Billy found out what it was like to have a family that cared enough to take his allergies into consideration and to find people who wanted him to be happy and healthy even if it meant they’d have to do more work for it. For once, Billy felt loved and treasured and cared for by the people that surrounded him and he couldn’t be any happier.

[who1ssheesh]

Xanxus's s/o being best buds with squalo!!

Xanxus’ s/o being best friends with Squalo

Pairings: Xanxus/reader, Squalo/reader |PLATONIC|

Notes: maybe I’ve taken “buds” way too serious + Xanxus is a little piece of shit here I’m sorry……I’ll prolly will make Squalo s/o being buds with Xus soon lol. I also think I will expand on this one, feels rushed on some moments here and there

Warnings: swearing, not proofread at all, possible break-up 💀

If we take the route you’ve become friends with Squalo after starting to date Xanxus, then ooh boy, that’s a rocky start

Superbia admires Xanxus’ strength and specific traits – Squalo never in his life can terrify people around just by mere existing and suffocate with the strength through red wild eyes alone.

But other than that don’t they HATE each other with each letter in capital?

BTW Xanxus, on the other hand, is so ignorant he won’t admit any of Squalo’s strong traits to save his life, and captain acts much more reasonable here. So maybe you’re the one hinting to your man that he should go at least a little bit softer on his right hand

So. Squalo didn’t think Xanxus would date someone….like…….smart…….

He kind of expected a typical mob wife to be a candy of the eye and suck out (pun intended) money since Xanxus doesn’t care about people, you just gotta be useful to him

He can’t even lie he was dumbfounded seeing you for the first time. You are……..normal. He doesn’t mean ugly, you are pretty in a natural? Regular? way, not in a “I want to be a supermodel way too hard” way. Help me, I sound sexist.

It’s not an insult to you, it’s an “I can’t believe someone ambitious and smart got along with HIM”

100% the first time you see him is when Xanxus is beating the shit out of him with glasses again, and you were looking terrified to say the least. And Squalo was so NASTY, he really wished you would see this as the biggest red flag because he doesn’t want to see that bitch happy.

I mean it, there is just no way to get those two along, it’s a weird hate-infused destructive relationship between them.

You talk for the first time somewhere in the hall after that incident.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Squalo doesn’t answer, but you swear you heard an angry screech of his teeth in return.

You stumbled into each other pretty accidentally. You could be getting coffee for Lussuria (of COURSE you had  to be friends with that-, he would think) and somehow you always got one for Squalo. You are subtle, most of the times not even talking to him, just acting like……you merely treat him as everyone else and don’t pay attention to his tantrums.

You are immune to tantrums with your boyfriend, you’re the reasonable one in the relationship lol

You are the first one to call Squalo out.

“Quit your bullshit”

• You know what’s funny? It worked. Now welcome hell, you can never escape but it’s funny at least.

• You start talking just a little bit, one step at a time, a rare sight seeing Squalo genuinely laugh at something. He enjoys your humor and your brute language, he can now see why you get along with Xanxus.

• You start gossiping with him a lot, he is such a bitch, no wonder Lussuria likes him. As we know, nothing brings you closer than this.

• Anyways, you forgot your furious manchild idiot of a man. And he doesn’t like what he sees, Xanxus unironically thinks you are fucking with Superbia, he is raging and is THIS far from shooting you two

• It’s a long and heated argument, honestly 90% chance it can lead to a break-up. THAT’S IT THANKS FOR READING

• No, but really it’s the first time you have such a scary interaction, it probably includes you having a breakdown.

• Squalo is around there as well, and he is sure to let Xanxus know he won’t let anything happen to you.

• It’s a hard one for your relationship, you probably don’t talk for several days, Squalo will feel guilty despite hating Xanxus with all soul. Xanxus may be a bitch, but you are not.

• Will be your voice of the reason - he can’t and won’t in any way pamper you or pity, but Squalo is good with spitting facts, 10/10 friend material

• Could be having some interactions with Xanxus about the situation, could be not, depends on his mood. But certainly will call his boss a fuck-head

• Sadly, I can’t see your friendship with Squalo go well with Xanxus. Squalo may be the reasonable, but your boyfriend in not

• You both develop a pretty defending relationship, Squalo is sinking with his buds trust me it’s a pride think. So at least you are going to be irritated at him throwing stuff at Squalo -> another argument.

• You don’t go too far though, you both respect each other’s independence and don’t act as mother hen. Rare mature friendship here

• You start going hanging out with Varia a lot, maybe you even meet some of his buds out of Varia. Xanxus is going to be around too btw, some can say he is acting calmer around you

• Squalo is a friend to insult you a lot even as a joke, so thick skin is required. Will be mad at you A LOT, but still is the one to come over at 2am 1000 km away if your car broke down or sum. But if it’s a shitty reason he will get mad and say to fuck your boyfriend’s brain instead.

• Even if you don’t try, you pick up some fencing knowledge lol. Squalo starts rambling a lot and really appreciates you listening. Does so in return, can interrupt you with a dumb joke or some nonsense but just wants to show you he listens

• Squalo can be away for long at missions and develop a habit of bringing you cards with a shitty dad jokes, insults or all together

• You humor synchronizes well, there are a lot of inside jokes, Squalo thinks those are the most important in a friendship lol. Excluding drinking bets

• Has some lines. Won’t get over your house if you are alone. Fair maybe? He wouldn’t be happy if his gf brought Xanxus at their house while he is away. Exception for some emergencies and business questions

• If you ever interested, Squalo will get you tickets to sword fight events. Especially where he participates lol. You don’t have to go, but….he gets you those cause wants to see you ok?? You brobably will go there with Bel or Lussuria

• BROFISTING A LOT AND I WILL DIE ON THAT HILL. Sometimes that piece of shit bumbs you with a metal hand on purpose

• Since you don’t see each other in a sexual or any romantic light at all, Squalo often forgets you are a woman and could be smaller or not so tough (in a physical sense) and can hit you too hard

• You two rating others’ attractiveness 100%💀💀💀💀 Sometimes Luss involved

• It takes a really long time, but the 3am late chats while smoking at a balcony are a thing (I have doomer panelka vibes in my blood, doing that rn whatchu gonna do about it)

• He one day comes you for a serious advice because he’s unsure, and you are the only one Squalo trusts. You appreciate that a lot. Like…a lot

• He will do a lot in return to show his appreciation for your support, you know there is always a man behind your back, ready to catch you if you fall

• I don’t know, to be honest, of Xanxus ever makes peace with your friendship. He is not jealous, it’s about…trust. He is dead inside thinking that in critical situation you can chose Squalo, and Xanxus realizes his tantrums (that fight) break your trust in him even more, which makes Squalo more valuable to you. So in conclusion….Xanxus breaks his life again and is scared.

• But at some point, you don’t have to feel sorry for him, he also wounded you, and he knows that (he should). Squalo 100% will evaluate your ego and aggression a lot, you become confident in protecting your boundaries.

• So if ever Xanxus makes you choose (and holy shit I can imagine him doing this-), you don’t have to chose him just to please him? But it’s hurting someone’s trust either way.

• If you prioritize Xanxus, your relationship with Squalo grow noticeably colder. You obviously won’t develop an “I can’t trust you my life” friendship, but you notice Squalo is not angry about it and even sees a certain reason in your decision. He respects your view on the situation (since you are with Xanxus longer than being friend with Superbia) and sees this as a logical conclusion - that’s the character he likes you because of, ok? You still have a joke here and there or go crazy together rarely just like with any Varia guardian. You will notice Xanxus’ gaze anyway, but it’s a different one - he knows he is the one for you and can’t get enough of that fact.

• Well…….if in the end Xanxus hurts you too much….Squalo is flabbergasted to say the least and feels a lot of responsibility in here secretly, even tho he understands you both are adults + Xanxus can fuck himself piece of shit go and die + voi + ratio. He becomes distant because of this, all while you are weeping here all alone and having second thoughts. I’m the end, he comes at you door in the most Superbia fashion - with a slap and now you have 23 hour training sessions to get your mind clear or sum (he is trying). He gotta get you back to your feet with confidence and pride better as ever, because he is a friend. He goes to help at 2am, gets you when you are all out of breath and here to beat some cense back to you. He helps you get your place in a mafia life once you are chipped off of Xanxus and are all alone, he honestly the one to see you succeed and make yourself a name AND he will hardcore convince you to become a swordsman as well if a potential is seen. It could be decades, but you are still here for Superbia as he is for you, and everyone knows you are always around each other - loud, arrogant, bashful and foul-mouthed. And he still bumps you with a metal hand on purpose istg

[weareallgonnaliveforawhile]

The wedding p1

I'm gonna talk about the Guapoduo wedding cause it did not go the same as canon. But this is gonna be split up into 'Pre-Wedding/Wedding Planning' and 'During Wedding' because both are long as shit and I want to organize well. Maybe even an 'After Wedding' if anyone's genuinely curious

Elq’s role in the wedding was…confusing to say the very least from the moment they started planning. No one was really sure where the fuck he was gonna be or if he’d just act like he was also getting married.

Cellbit and Foolish argued about it for hours. Foolish was saying that Elq probably should just be a normal audience member since he literally wasn’t married OR dating them. Cellbit was saying that Elq was one of his best friends and should have a bigger part, and he really wasn’t sure if he was somehow dating Elq and missed a social cue.

The debate ended when Roier showed up and said that Elq was his best man and had agreed to not plant bombs at the wedding venue (Which relived Cellbit and concerned Foolish as he didn’t know that was ever an issue)

Elq’s attitude to the wedding changed based on the day. Some days he’d act like he was planning on sabotaging it for ‘revenge’, some days he’d act like he was also gonna get married, and some days he acted like his best friends were getting married. It varied a lot.

Elq took on a decent amount of wedding planning since he was the best man. He was really good and really bad at the same time. He’d unironically suggest poisoning the guest who caught the bouquet so that there would be no next wedding then casually say “Oh also, we should probably use lavender since it’s the flowers that they gave to each other on their first date and represents devotion. Anyways, how much gunpowder can be legally put into this food?” 

The wedding planning party itself was…something. It consisted of Foolish (Father of Roier, there because he loves planning and Vegetta was too tired), Badboyhalo (Closest thing Cellbit has to a father), Richas (They could not make him leave if they tried. And they tried.), Jaiden (Best friend of Roier), and Elq (Maybe best friends with the grooms and may be in a poly relationship with them. No one knows. Least of all the grooms)

It went exactly how you think it went, but the result was great and everyone was surprised that the only person to get thrown off a cliff was Bad and everyone is pretty sure that he literally can’t die.

Richas is security-like in canon and Elq get him so much armor. It’s a requirement for being security and Richas reluctantly agrees to it. Richas is more decked out in armor that’s better than a solid amount of the guests. He is having a very good time waving around a sword though, he takes his job very seriously.

Elq's job when it comes to the actual venue is to be nitpicky. Foolish builds to then Elq verbally tears apart every flaw it has so that Foolish can make it better. He’s very good at this and Foolish has only cried once so far!

Wedding planning is a pain in the ass and is very difficult until.

The day finally came and it was perfect

Well, perfect as it can be in this lovely fuckshit server

[ripaxed]

Sugar and Heather for the character ask?

Evil women <3

Sugar!

Sexuality Headcanon: Lesbian! Nothing too deep about it

Gender Headcanon: I don’t really have one? I generally default to thinking of her as a cis ally but I vibe with her being trans too.

A ship I have with said character: Skygar <3. Their team up went hard idc. Also I don’t really think about it much but her and Leonard is cute

A BROTP I have with said character: Not really a friendship but I think the alliance she offered to Shawn would’ve been interesting if he agreed. Her laughing at Max is funny also.

A NOTP I have with said character: Sometimes people would talk about her and Owen and it’s so. side eye

A random headcanon: With her making it far in Pahkitew, Sugar was offered more role in tv and commercials. Which let her eventually go to veterinary school, like how she wanted if she won the million.

General Opinion over said character: Sugar suffers from Pahkitew’s weaker writing a lot of the time, but I still really enjoy her. Her huge personality makes her a standout even in the season of zany characters. Plus I find her rather interesting, with her history in exploitive child beauty pageants resulting in her underhanded and competitive attitude and her lack of trust in others around. If Pahkitew theoretically somehow had a second season, she’d be the number one character I’d have wanted to see expanded on.

Heather!

Sexuality Headcanon: Unlabeled! I think Heather struggled to accept she was queer for a long time, in part because no label felt “like her”. Finding out she didn’t have to fit into any particular box made it easier for her to understand herself.

Gender Headcanon: Transmasc. I have. many thoughts about this hc that I should save for it’s own post. But I first thought of it when I started to read the line “I’m the good guy?” as equating to gender euphoria and Heather being tied to being labeled a villain as she is to being labeled a girl.

A ship I have with said character: Ah Sceather, the crackship made as an inside joke that I turned unironic and I am obsessed with. Outside of that, Aleheather is so good. Genuinely just a fantastic canon ship and the backbone of World Tour. I also really really like Gweather and H-bombs.

A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Harold again! They work super well together both platonically and romantically to me.

A NOTP I have with said character: Uhh, I guess I’m not a fan of her and Courtney? Not in the sense I hate it I am just incredibly indifferent to it. Shearing sheeps pops off tho

A random headcanon: I hc they work as a union negotiator in adulthood! Based on that scene in action about her knowing union rules and wanting to organize against Chris

General Opinion over said character: Heather <3. A favorite character easily and forever. I’m obsessed with her. I think she’s under appreciated in Island. She’s not very complex but she brings such an energy that almost all of her scenes are entertaining. Also season one would be impossibly dull without her srry </3. She’s so good in the Island special where her confidence is totally shattered. In Action not only do we see her at her most pathetic /pos but also at some of her funniest. I love you bald Heather <3. In World Tour, well, what can I even say that someone else hasn’t. She’s at her peak, she’s funny, she’s completely hated but manages to scrap her way to finale, and she’s the best winner of any gen 1 season by a mile. Her history of unpopularity and horrible parents and being rejected by everyone around her it just- I love her. Heather sweep.

[3terna15unshin3]

Then Because She Goes

We’re supposed to leave by half-past eight

★ Chapter 14 of 15, 6455 words

★ Matty Healy x Original Female Character

★ warnings: bit of angst and grief

<< 13

13 February, 2020

“I’m going to do a bit of a clothing shop. For the new job, Lolo—I wanted some fancier clothes. Do you need anything before I come home? Might be a couple of hours or so. Okay. Yeah, but later. M’kay. See you later. Love you. Bye.”

Este hung up her phone, which once had José on the other end, to continue sorting through the racks of business casual pieces at H&M. The style bored her slightly, so the choices she kept tucked under her arm were littered with fun textures and colours, while still upholding the factors that made attire professional. She felt a bit of pressure to dress to impress for her upcoming first day at work.

After spending far too long in a fitting room, debating on whether she should purchase a pair of trousers in green or in blue (she eventually chose green), Este wandered the rest of the store leisurely. Her destination was the section filled with merchandise plastered in ripped off TV and film logos, and oddly chosen inspirational quotes. It would be a nice and lighthearted break from panicking about whether or not her personal style even existed.

She giggled to herself, holding up a t-shirt that had Mickey Mouse holding a pineapple printed onto the front. “Who would buy this?” muttered Este, before turning to a new rack. When her eyes caught the clothes on display, her breath hitched for a second.

Their design, clearly attempting to convince Chanel fans to consider buying a shirt with their rectangular branding, looked awfully like a logo that Este knew all too well.

Her mind flashed back to the second night she stayed round Matty’s place, snooping through his shirt collection to steal another one to lazily throw on and finding handfuls with boxes printed on the front. She made fun of him for owning so much of his own merch. ‘You know me, I’m my own biggest fan,’ Este remembered him boasting, before shutting him down and insisting that she held the title instead.

She thought of dancing to Give Yourself A Try with Cate in their flat, and hearing the box tattoo line—that moment being so early on that she didn’t understand the reference. She thought of the rectangle that lit up their stage as the band performed in front of it, and being in the crowd. Of how frequently she saw fans with the shape inked into their skin, helping her realise that the lyric in the song wasn’t an exaggeration.

The shape, yet simple, elicited a feeling Este didn’t know how to describe, and she found it difficult to peel her eyes away from the nine-pound-fifty shirt draped over a hanger before her.

Another shopper, who was actually shopping in Este’s vicinity unironically, snapped her out of the memory induced trance she’d been stuck in, allowing her to finally head up to the till and pay. She was excited to style her new green trousers and the other new additions to her wardrobe. But, it was only the beginning of her shopping spree.

By late morning, she had stopped at every store on her list. A couple of bags sat firmly on Este’s shoulder and clutched in one of her hands; but she hadn’t gone too crazy, since she had taken the tube and couldn’t be bothered to carry everything back on her own. She made a mental note to herself to take her car more often.

Grimey tiled stairs led her feet to the underground where she swiped her Oyster card and slipped on her headphones to wait for her train. The box sighting in the H&M made Matty linger in her mind, which wasn’t necessarily unusual, as Este found herself thinking about him often lately.

Though she was trying to create a new ‘normal’ for herself—to fill the gap in her life that Florencia’s passing left—she hadn’t felt as beautiful as she once did when Matty’s eyes were on her. Not even just physically, since he was never afraid to express how much he admired Este’s mind; its ins and outs, the things she feared and things she loved. She craved the way he understood her.

So, it freaked her out when she stepped off the platform and onto the train, riding it peacefully into the direction of her granddad’s house and nearly reaching her destination—just to catch Matty’s eye across the carriage. Speak of the devil.

He had already been looking at her. As if he was waiting, begging, for Este to notice his stare.

It was a relief to see her in the flesh after such a long time full of uncertainty. Her hair was longer. I guess that’s what hair does after a while, Matty figured. The black headphones that sat over her ears were unfamiliar. Este used to refuse to leave her flat without her beloved AirPods that frequently sat in her ears, so he assumed they were new.

But her eyes were still the same. Matty chased their contact until they met his own. A pang of bittersweet sadness hit his chest when she looked back at him; and he watched the neutral expression on her face turn slightly upwards into a smile. He had to blink a couple of times to survive the haze she’d locked him in, and attempted to smile back. The muscles in his face seemed to be just as surprised to see her as he was, so frankly, Matty had no idea what they were doing, or if they even formed a smile. He was too busy trying not to feel broken when she ceased their mutual gaze and exited through the opening train doors. It was her stop. And that was it.

It took everything in him to stay seated. What he really wanted to do was to run after her, shout her name proudly at the top of his lungs until she turned around. He wanted to see her smile with her teeth. Be ecstatic to see him, and pull him in for an embrace. But that wasn’t reality.

Este seemed peaceful. Healthy. Healing, hopefully. The shopping she carried made Matty assume she was having a day to herself, so he didn’t want to burden her. Instead, he sat and convinced himself that it was the smart choice to make.

-

There were a plethora of things he could be working on, now sitting at home where he’d be for the next couple of nights before their Nottingham show on the 15th—but with the NME Awards being held the previous night, he was still antsy with adrenaline from the successful ceremony. And also fairly drained from the theatrics of it all.

So, wanting to take advantage of his free day, Matty headed back out instead of staying in the house as planned. He drove over to a park (always one quite far, for the sake of his privacy), bringing along a notebook and pen in case any inspiration peeked through, as well as a book to pass the time as he sat on a bench and took in the cold air. It was a bit too chilly for that many people to be out, so it was lovely and quiet.

After setting up a queue of music on Spotify, his eyes got distracted by the other social media apps that tempted them. Clicking on Instagram, Matty impulsively searched Este’s name into the explore page—something he hadn’t done in a while—and similarly to the way he tried to find her after meeting her for the very first time. He needed to get it out of his system, and curiosity always seemed to win over logic, with him.

But there wasn’t much to look at. Her account had been the same for the past couple of months; no new posts or silly random things uploaded temporarily to her story.

Este didn’t spend much time scrolling on her phone anymore, and surely didn’t have many glamorous things to display for her followers at the moment. She took note of her declining screen time and assumed it was connected to how the feeling of losing someone so special inspired her to live life in the moment; but in reality, it just sort of bummed her out to see the eventful lives of the accounts she followed. It made Este feel like she was the only person struggling, though she knew that wasn’t true.

But when she arrived home, setting the bags full of clothes onto her unmade bed, her first instinct was to open her device.

She wanted to text Matty.

Minutes went by as Este word-vomited into her Notes app, finally letting herself open up. Seeing him on the tube only made her miss him more; and feel even more guilty for leaving him in the dark. A explanation felt integral for her sanity. She silently thanked the universe for deciding to make them take the same train at a moment that she truly felt ready to face him. A moment where she was thinking clearly (though there was still enough fog in her brain to send him eleven messages in a row without caring that much).

Matty curled the sleeves of his coat over his hands in attempts to keep them warm. The air was cooler than he expected it to be. His fingertips remained frigid as they turned the pages of his book and he bounced his leg up and down out of habit. Flipping to a new chapter, the song playing switched over timely.

With his queue now over, a shuffled playlist began playing, and the new track wasn’t one he was up for hearing. So, he reached for the phone in his pocket to skip it, and instead caught the notifications from Este streaming through. Each buzz felt like a brick dropped on a car windshield, the sheer weight of them sending him waves of unexpected shock.

E ★

Thu, 13 Feb at 12:49 PM

Hi. That was me on the tube. At least I think you spotted me, unless you look at everyone on the tube that way too lol

I’m sorry that I disappeared and ruined this. But so much has changed and I think i’m getting better.

After the funeral I never went back to Manchester. I left Greenhouse, and Georgia took my spot in the flat (about time). It was really scary and for a while I wasn’t really living with any purpose, but I think moving was for the best. My granddad needed me. I didn’t work at all for a bit but as u can probably imagine it drove me insane. Like actually it was so bad that I’m now an absolute machine at Scrabble. I’ll have to challenge u to a match one day. Could probably kick ur arse tbh

Those times were probably some of my lowest, right after my nan passed, cooped up in Islington with my granddad. But once time did a little healing I eventually had this intense want - or more like need - to do something bigger. To be something bigger. For Lola.

So I reconnected with a few of my old colleagues to try and get back into the journalism industry. Did a lot of networking with the right people and hearing about the work they did. It reminded me of what I used to be so passionate about and helped distract me from how bad my brain was. Sort of think that what fuelled me to work so hard was just pure mania lol yikes

But last week I had an interview for a position with The Guardian. And this morning I accepted. It’s something small for now but there’s so much opportunity for me to work my way up and getting there has been so fulfilling. It’s a new and exciting chapter of my life.

I’m not telling you this to say ‘look at me now!’ or for your pity, but to thank you for encouraging me to think about pursuing journalism. I know you didn’t say much but it was the first time I even considered it was possible to go back.

I had been living the same days over and over again for years, at Greenhouse, and even though I was so happy there, you were the thing that threw me for a loop. I’d never met someone so addicted to beautiful things, so propelled by consuming life and making art with it. You made me think of myself as something bigger than what I already was. Thank you for that. And again, I am so so sorry that I let it fall apart.

Think this might be the most text messages anyone has ever sent to one person all at once. Lol soz. Just needed to get that out after seeing your face. I miss you.

I’m not expecting anything back, but I’ll be here. A text away.

I promise this time x

It took a while for him to muster up the courage to actually read them. But the lengthy paragraphs Matty was faced with were eventually whispered through his lips to himself. He had to stop his music completely to be able to hear himself think.

The words almost made him irrationally angry. Knowing that Este had clearly chosen to stop contacting him not due to his wrongdoings—but because of life taking a turn for the worst—made him understand in the first place, even without an explanation. Matty had accepted that. But what stirred his anger was that it didn’t matter. Even if there was no good reason, or if Florencia was still alive. His heart would always understand—and he couldn’t imagine a world where he’d choose to deny himself a place in Este’s life. It was frustrating, how strong his feelings were, and looking back, Matty couldn’t believe he’d spent so much time without her there.

There was no use in trying to type something back. His thumbs drew little circles in the air as they hovered above the keyboard on his screen, waiting for his brain to tell them what letters to click. But nothing was coming through. So, without thinking, he called.

“Hello?” It only rang once before she picked up.

“Hi,” Matty started nervously, “It’s me.”

She smiled at the sound of his voice, thinking it may sound a bit unfamiliar after the time that had gone by. It didn’t. “Yeah, it is you.”

“I read your texts.”

“Thank you,” Should I be thanking him for reading them? This sounds like I sent him fan mail, Este thought, “I’m glad you did,”

Matty thought about how she mentioned her and José living in Islington, which was near where he sat shivering in his too-thin coat. “Are you busy now? I tried to type out a response but it doesn’t feel like enough,”

“No, I’m not busy at all, actually.” She revealed, hoping he’d suggest they meet up, but also completely unsure if he was in town or not.

“You said you’re in Islington, right? Because I’m in Gillespie Park now. I could come to you, or you could come by if you know where that is. There’s a spot beside me on the bench I’m sitting on. It’s all yours, if you’re up for it.”

Este grinned in relief after learning that he was within reach. Physically and mentally. “I’ll take it. I can be there in 30?”

“I’ll drop a pin so you can find me.”

“See you,”

“See you.”

She had thrown out the thirty minute timeline to keep her cool and sound casual despite having no idea where Gillespie Park was.

So, since she learned through a quick Google search that it was only a 10 minute car journey from her house, Este paced round the kitchen to be able to arrive when she promised Matty she would. And attempt to figure out what to say to him once she did.

Sitting in his recliner, her granddad noticed the nervous circles she walked in and turned to eye her. “You’re stressing me out, Anak. What are you pacing for?” he asked.

“Just wasting time before I have to leave. I’m meeting someone I haven’t spoken to in while, so I’m a bit antsy. Can you tell? Do I seem antsy?” Este spoke with speed.

“Who are you meeting? Because yes, you do seem very antsy.”

She winced at his honesty and tried to compose herself, shaking her hands out and taking a deep breath. “Better?” She forced her legs to stop, and sarcastically posed with her arms crossed formally. José chuckled at her antics and nodded in agreement. “I’m seeing Matty,” Este finished.

“You don’t speak to Matty anymore?” A confused look displayed across his face. “He was a nice boy, you know. I was thinking of trying to scare him off when I met him but I liked him too much to go through with it,” he admitted.

“I don’t really have the time to explain, Lolo,” Este diverted, tapping on her phone to see the time. She should be leaving by now. “But I know. I liked him too.”

-

Matty watched her approach from afar, with her eyes switching between studying her phone at the location that he’d sent her, and scanning the dreary park to find him. She was still a ways away, so he figured Este didn’t recognise him from a long distance and decided to stand up and wave her down.

Setting his book down, he got up and raised his right arm to catch her attention. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and she gave a small wave back. A nervous smile sat on his face as she walked over with a similar one on hers.

Still standing, Matty shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn’t know what to do with them.

“Can I hug you?” Este quietly asked. She didn’t bother to start with a ‘hello’.

He simply obliged by stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her. They fit around Este’s torso just the same, and Matty could almost feel his cells throbbing for her when her hand migrated up to cradle the back of his head, fingers buried in his hair. Both of their eyes fluttered shut.

There must be a word to describe just how badly they had missed each other. If there wasn’t, then they’d have to somehow bottle up that moment, standing and holding each other in the middle of the park, and put that into the dictionary instead. ‘I miss you’ just wasn’t enough, thought Este.

“I’m so sorry about your nan,” whispered Matty, feeling the need to reiterate his condolences even months later. He rubbed his hand up and down her back.

She squeezed him tighter before they let go and sat down side by side. “Thank you,” Her hands wedged between her crossed legs to stay warm. “She really did love you, you know. Like, truly. You didn’t even have to earn it, she just immediately did.”

They shared a smile, and Matty chuckled in response. “I am sad I didn’t get the chance to spend more time with her,” he said with a sadness in his voice. “She had always been so wonderful to me.”

Este attempted to control her blowing hair by constantly tucking it away as things faded to silence. They both snuck glances at each other.

“God, I haven’t even asked you how you are.” She scolded herself.

He internally cringed at their small talk. It was bizarre that they didn’t know each other that well anymore. That he had to catch her up on his life.

“The usual. Touring and finishing up the album. It’s been kind of stressful, to be honest. Lots of hoops we’ve had to jump through to get it finished. Already have had to push back the release date once, so that just about tells you how it’s going,” Matty looked over at her to see her watching him as he talked.

She nodded, gently smiling. “I can’t wait to hear it,” Este said, “and I love hearing about your music. But I asked how you are. I want to know how Matty is.”

He met the brown in her eyes with his own. It was like she wanted to see through him. At one point Este felt like she could, but she’d been out of practice for a bit. And Matty wanted to let her.

“I’ve been okay. As good as I can be. I just think I’ve been exhausted for the past, like, 10 months straight. The holidays helped, though. Seeing my family always feels good. Seeing you now feels good too,” explained Matty, truthfully. “I’ve missed you. A lot.”

Her hand inched over, finally gaining the confidence to hold his. They felt rough and weathered, but in the best way. Matty closed his over her soft ones and ran his thumb over the back. She sighed in relief.

“I honestly don’t know how to describe how terrible I feel for shutting you out the way I did. You deserved so much better than that,” Este felt herself try and swallow the lump in her throat. Saying everything to Matty’s face made it feel so real, because it was; she’d hurt him. “When everything was so fresh in the fall, I went quiet on everyone. And I’m thankful that you let me have my space. But once things got a bit better, I couldn’t bring myself to reach out. I was so scared you’d hate me. And that it was too late,”

Matty could feel the guilt laced in her words and saw the corner of her eyes grow damp. “That’s what scares me, E. I could never hate you.”

“Really?”

He nodded and let go of her hand to use his and settle her still unruly hair. A loose piece was guided behind her ear.

“I think that’s why I didn’t keep trying to get answers out of you, too. I knew in the back of my mind that there would be a time that you’d feel ready—and that no matter how far away that time was, I’d be there.” His heartbeat increased when what he said brought a smile out of Este. A real one. Her dimple started back at him. “And being scared is overrated, anyway. I was a dickhead and too scared to let you call me your boyfriend last summer. Even though that’s what I wanted.”

“Yeah, you were.” She chuckled, and swiped any sadness from her eye quickly. “Fuck being scared.”

They agreed with laughter. “That’s what I should apologise for, by the way. It was pointless—me trying to keep us from moving forward, just because I’d let things go to shit in the past. It was unfair to both of us. I was just being a pussy.” Matty admitted.

She waved him off, the silly disagreement not meaning much to her now.

“It’s crazy that at this point, that was almost seven months ago now. I think I blocked all of August to December out of my memory, so it doesn’t seem like that much time has passed at all,” recalled Este, turning to Matty and pulling her legs up onto the bench to sit crisscross.

He agreed silently, shaking his head in disbelief at how far they had come. “Sometime throughout those months you’ve managed to score a job with The Guardian though, so that’s a win.”

“I did,” she said, suddenly shy by his flattery.

“That’s more than just a win, to be fair. It’s huge,” continued Matty, “I can’t believe you’re actually a Londoner now. Like, for real. With a fancy writing job. Well I can easily believe the latter, but Este leaving Manchester? I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Hey, I haven’t even started that job yet. And it is not at all fancy—at least not yet. So don’t get too excited,” Este defended, to stay humble.

“Still, congratulations. I know you’ll be amazing. When you said that I helped make you see yourself as something bigger than what you already are, it felt like a punch in the gut. In a good way. If that was the only thing you ever took away from what we had then I’d be happy,” he tried to explain, using his fist against his stomach to demonstrate just how much he meant it, and how grateful he was for Este’s words. He instantly regretted speaking in the past tense as he said ‘from what we had’, but had faith that she’d get what he meant.

“I mean, it’s true. It really was you. I think my nan secretly wanted me to go back and use my degree, too. She always thought the highest of me—higher than anyone else—like when I showed the tiniest interest in starting violin lessons as a kid and she was suddenly telling her friends I’d be a violinist one day. Or when I had only been out of uni for a couple of days and she asked me why she hadn’t seen me reporting on the news yet. She’d seen me as being too big for the bookstore. But she also knew how much I loved it, so she never complained,”

Este found herself getting emotional again, thinking about Florencia, and he noticed. Out of instinct, Matty reached out to her ankle that sat on the seat next to him. The warmth of his hand instantly comforted her, and the small circles he drew took her back to the handful of moments they lay tangled together.

“Great minds,” joked Matty.

“Yeah. Too bad it only took her dying, me quitting my job, cutting everyone off, moving across the country—and going slightly manic—to finally realise.” She sustained the lighthearted tone he initiated.

“You know,” Matty turned to bring his feet onto the wooden seat, hugging his knees to his chin comfortably. “I read this book a couple months ago—“ He hesitated after seeing Este’s eyes roll in annoyance, making fun of his obsession with referencing. “Hey!”

Este giggled. “Go on, say the David Foster-Wallace quote you were planning on saying, or whatever,” Amusement was plastered on her face.

“Fuck you!” He threw his head back as he laughed.

She had missed hearing that sound.

“I was just about to say that I just read this book. Pure Colour. It was pretty crazy to follow, and almost a bit Freudian at times which was gross, but the author said this thing about how the most important thing being the process of finding the right distance from everything in life. That sometimes a person is meant to move forward in the world with the thing they love at a distance. Like, you can’t see anything from too close—or too far. So maybe that’s all it really took. Just the right distance.”

This was another moment Este felt like wanted to tip over his head in hopes that some of his brain would spill out. To be able to understand what went on in there.

“That’s a beautiful way to put it,” she gushed, “Thank you, for thinking the way you think. I’ll never grow tired of hearing you talk.”

He beamed at her, studying her face like it was his own reflection. He liked the way her septum piercing (that was now mostly healed) sat slightly crooked, the bead on her right hovering higher than the left.

“You say that now,” warned Matty, implying that she’d think otherwise eventually.

A gust of wind made his journal flop onto the pavement that made up the pathway they sat on, forcing him to bend over to pick it up. Este nestled deeper into her denim jacket.

He could see her begin to shiver, so Matty asked, “Do you have anywhere to be today? Would you want to maybe come over to mine? To be a bit warmer. We can order food, or something,”

Este thought to herself for a second, pretending to have to weigh out a decision, but—without question—she agreed, smiling and nodding her head. “I’d like that.”

-

She followed behind Matty in her car through the 25 minute drive back to his house. Although Este’s was much closer, they’d decided against disturbing her granddad’s peace.

He put on an Etta James record once they had settled in. The two of them got comfortable, sitting side by side on his sofa, as Este took in the place that had now grown unfamiliar to her. She noticed a couple of different pieces of furniture, and random new additions of decor and literature that sat messily around. How did he manage to prolong so much character in his belongings when he was barely home? wondered Este.

Matty was right about it being warmer, both literally and in terms of the energy between them. His house’s lighting that glowed orange like marmalade was a nice contrast to the grey UK sky they’d previously been sitting under. And now that they had moved past any nerves or fear, it was like no time had gone by in silence.

He rambled on about how crazy the final leg of his American tour was. Let her listen to what she wanted to hear from Notes. Este loved it. “It’s so British,” she complimented. He thanked her.

Este learned that he had a great Christmas, and a new obsession with the VR he had gotten as a gift from the guys. They were doing well, too, and had a couple of London shows coming up at the end of the month. Matty invited her out to whichever night she could make it to, and Este promised to come out to at least one of them.

Then she talked his ear off, through her highs and lows of the latter end of 2019. How they were mostly lows. She told him about her new job, what she’d be doing there, and her Scrabble high score. She blushed when Matty expressed how proud of her he was (about the job, not the vocabulary game). She bragged about now having read four Joan Didion novels since they last spoke, and that her favourite was Play It As It Lays.

“Of course your favourite is one of like, five, fiction books she’s ever written. You really have not changed all that much,” complained Matty.

They grew hungry and ordered a Chinese takeaway to eat messily with chopsticks, chewing over the styrofoam containers—still sat on the sofa—and pairing it with the only bottle of red Matty had left in his frequently uninhabited house. The meal was only a brief intermission, as both of their voices continued exercising to the point of them growing tired. There was never enough to say to each other.

When the sun had set quite some time ago, Matty’s concrete home made them feel small, but small together. Este couldn’t avoid the weight of her eyes increasing after the pure catharsis of their conversation and early morning errands she had run. So, she fell asleep. On Matty’s shoulder. He noticed how long the pauses between his words and hers started to grow and wasn’t surprised when her head held lower and lower until she passed out against him. And he let her. Matty knew that Este would have done the same for him.

While she slept, he took the opportunity to get their mess tidied up. He threw away the empty food containers and took the glasses that once had wine in them over to the kitchen. He dampened a flannel and used it to get any gunk off of the coffee table, moving every book and vase sitting on it out of the way to make sure he didn’t miss anything. After a couple of minutes, Matty realised how uncomfortable she looked, so he grabbed a cushion to stick under Este’s cheek and draped a light throw over her body. Her chest rose up and down rhythmically.

But, Matty was unsure of what she had planned the next day. Whether it would be smart for Este to stay overnight at his, or if she would wake up in a panic having missed something important. Not wanting to risk it, he cut her slumber to a short forty-five minutes.

He studied how gently her eyelids were shut. The thick black eyelashes that grew from them rested with barely any weight against her cheek. There was contentment written all over her face—from what Matty could read, at least. He smiled at how beautiful she was. How beautiful she had always been.

His body squatted in front of the sofa, now eye level with her quiet snores, and his hand apprehensively shook her shoulder.

“E,” Matty whispered, “Wake up, Este.”

The sound of his voice eventually helped her slip back into consciousness, though her short sleep was inconsistent anyway. Este had woken up periodically, and there were a couple of times she was inclined to peek at her surroundings. She had briefly caught Matty sweetly humming to himself as he cleaned up their dinner. It was difficult to hold in her laugh and resist a smile, but her tiredness took over quickly and she wasn’t ever looking or listening for long.

She yawned before peeling her eyes open. “Sorry for falling asleep on you.”

“Don’t be. I’m sorry for waking you—I was just worried that you wouldn’t want to crash here. That you had somewhere to be tomorrow, or something.” Matty explained, chuckling at the sight of Este sleepily rubbing her eyes.

“Why would I not want to crash at your very cosy and welcoming concrete cube of a home?” she joked.

His jaw dropped at her dig at him. “You love it. Don’t lie now,”

“I do. You’re right.” confessed Este. Matty still sat low to the ground, so his chin found itself sat against the edge of the sofa cushion that she laid on. Despite talking comfortably for the previous hours, it was the closest they had come to each other all day. “Thank you for letting me explain myself today. I was expecting you to be holding a grudge, or something, but I’m glad you listened. And that you have it in your heart to forgive me,”

“You’re my Este. Of course I’d listen,” he responded matter-of-factly.

My Este, she repeated in her head, trying to push down the butterflies that she could feel overflowing from her chest.

Matty reached out with his finger to poke her in the cheek, happy to see a smile on her face. She jokingly smiled as wide as she could in response, showing all of her teeth, earning one just as big back from him. With his hand still reached out and next to her face, Este nuzzled her cheek into it, fairly intimately, forcing it to open and cradle her face.

It made them both freeze and their once goofy grins both faltered to a look of intrigue. The space between them was already small, but they wanted it even smaller.

She watched his eyes divert down towards her lips and wondered what he was waiting for. I want this, Este decided. We both want this.

Her arm extended to pull him in by the back of his neck, needing his mouth against hers like a desert needed water.

Their lips moved together in unison, both of them smiling in the process. It felt surreal for the months of misconnection to suddenly mean nothing—all that mattered was that now, they were there. A quiet hum of satisfaction could be heard.

Eventually, they broke apart to take a breath. Este took the pause as an opportunity to comb her fingers through the hair that sat messily atop his forehead, bringing her hand back around to sit on his jaw comfortably.

And in that moment, it was only them two. My Este, Matty thought again. It was his turn to repeat it to himself, in his head, realising how true it really was. He hoped he was her Matty.

——— 21 February, 2020

“This one’s new as well,” Matty said as he began introducing the next song, hearing the packed O2 scream back at him. “It’s been a favourite of mine lately. Dance and jump around with who you love, if they’re here with you tonight.”

The jangly guitar erupted even more praise from the crowd as its recognisable riff blew through the arena. From the side of the stage, Este watched what she could see of the audience and saw people jumping up and down in pure joy. The 1975’s energy was unmatched, as it always had been.

She bopped back and forth to the catchy and poppy anthem and her eyes lit up with the reflections from the screens that charged the atmosphere with bright lights. Her look of pure awe emitted as she watched Matty strum away at his guitar. A giggle left her lips when she heard him sing the line, “I’m sorry that I’m kind of queer, it’s not as weird as it appears. It’s ‘cause my body doesn’t stop me,” as the second verse passed.

The song felt both heartfelt and lighthearted at the same time. Especially when the final chorus rang on, its repetition hitting hard and meaningfully.

“I’ve been in love with her for ages, and ages, and ages, yeah,” He sang, eyes flickering across the sea of faces that shouted the words back to him. “I’ve been in love with you for ages, for ages, and ages,” The more he thought about the lyrics, the more he felt the need to do what did next, as the end of the performance neared.

Matty fully turned his body to where Este stood, surrounded by gear and wires and techies. His right hand came to a halt, and instead of continuing to play the chords, he straightened out his arm and pointed right at her. Este could feel his eye contact burning into her despite the flashing screens.

“I’ve been in love with you for ages.”

15 >>

[canonically47]

It's DC day! Sending this in so you can review the ep when you are ready!

the episode premiered at midnight for me so i only now got to watch it but!!! REVIEW TIME!!!

spoilers for DCAS episode 8!!!

(but you knew that)

i’m disappointed alec didn’t show more emotion when he found out fiore was voted out. it makes sense given the note they ended on, but i miss them so, so, so much <///3

i fucking hate yul, and it’s beyond me how people actually unironically like him. he’s literally made to be disliked and you’re telling me some of yall actually like him?? his racist, homophobic & fatphobic ass???? the way he treats grett is horrible, i hope he gets what’s coming to him. loved seeing him get trampled in the challenge like i was hoping for <3

tom is definitely lying about his boyfriend. he should’ve told gabby what he told aiden, given that they’ve known each other for longer and are good friends, but he didn’t, and instead nervously laughed it off and walked away. that boy is a liar!!! (my aro hc is saving him, but canonically speaking i am not digging him rn)

gabellie stays winning!!! i am actually glad ellie got voted off and the nature in which she did! and i am also so happy gabby wants to avenge her! i really want gabby to make it far into the game, tbh i could see her as a finalist. also i’m super glad that my prediction was right - i forgot to talk about it on here but i was 99.99% sure ellie was out next

trevor PLEASE get over derek HE IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!! HE’S ALWAYS BEEN A DICK TO YOU WHY DO YOU LIKE HIM!!!! WHY ARE ALLOS LIKE THIS!!!!!!!! why can’t anyone see that the ship is not good!! derek always pulls away from trevor or disagrees with him!! he doesn’t like him!! they’ve barely had any moments that would make you root for them as a ship and trevor is clearly established to like him as fan service!!! BURN TREVEK 🔥🔥🔥 (that being said if they find a way to turn the ship around - which ik damn well they won’t because they have a knack for ruining ships, thank god gabellie is safe - maybe i will join the trevekers, but not for now)

not much to comment on this episode, it was alright just not spectacular. i still like E6 the best. now for some predictions!!!

so, ellie just got out, and gabby wants to join the villains. although hesitant at first, i think they could let her in. i’m curious how she would clash with the people from her season, especially grett - maybe her and grett will switch places as hero and villain.

the tom-jake-aiden beef continues, and i think it won’t be long before we find out tom is lying about his boyfriend...

more trevek miscommunication. obviously.

i think yul has the highest chance of being voted next on yellow team, but that would require grett finding out... everything. for the other teams, i couldn’t tell you. you know me, i obviously want jake off, but i don’t think his weird beef is quite done yet. logically though, he and tom are not looking too good on their teams - gabby could easily make tess vote with her, and aiden and tom could probably miscommunicate when voting, leading to a 2-1-1 vote against tom. i’m just here for the ride but i hope i’m right :P

[msommers]

I would love more Maeve + Superstore thoughts, her friendship with Jonah sounds amazing

(i forgot about this in my drafts for too many days bc i’m a huge dummy don’t look at me here we go slamming post lmfao) oh boy, the tags were a 30 second long goof experiment but i'm always prepared to extend that for any scenario. let's make up some absolute nonsense for the lulz and cuteness.

literally do not ask me why posh brit accent maeve is working at a store in missouri because i don't have time for it and that's not part of the "everything here is for fun" theme.

one of her running gags is that she’s always talking about concepts for stories and tropes that she wants to explore/deconstruct, but anytime she’s asked about progress she’ll have some wild explanation for why she didn’t get very far into writing. there have been at least two rr martin comments made about how long it’s taken her to finish her first book. jonah, amy, sandra and cheyenne have all read some of her short stories/misc chapters of the first book because they’re here favorites full stop. final two seasons are for sure the “oh [bleep], maeve published her book and it’s really taking off” arc for her.

cheyenne is the little sister that she never had, they have matching nails and accessories all the time. maeve often does her hair for her because it’s fun to them and gives them chat time.

she did sandra’s hair and make-up for her wedding 🥰

was genuinely intimidated and putoff by dina for a good while but i cannot be talked out of believing that they wouldn’t have a c-plot in a later season episode of maeve making dina look as hot as can be and trying to teach her how to flirt without being so blunt. is she successful with that last bit?? not really, but she gets to dress dina up and also receive some good advice on not taking people’s shit along the way so that’s fantastic (garrett’s dying in the background and that’s all part of the plan tbh)

obligatory b-plot of maeve having to explain bisexuality and polamory to the breakroom clowns because most of them can’t understand her love life. probably came about as a result of another running gag where maeve talks about one of her dates and it doesn’t add up with her former comments much to the confusion of her coworkers, and then she has to whip out the lecture because she gets accused of straight up lying or fooling around on her partner.

once accidentally made people think she and amy were going on a date because she told justine they were "going out for dinner tonight" and it started an entire Discussion behind their backs (she does, in fact, put out the offer to amy before leaving work. gotta shoot that shot, maybe amy’s feeling a little curious that night who knows a girl can dream)

she and jonah instantly connected and became great friends. they share a specific optimistic outlook in the way that they can see the world for what it could be instead of what it currently is and it’s something that brought them together, then kept them close even through the rough times. she loves his commitment and dedication to any cause that he undertakes, his efforts are inspiring and keep her going whenever her own start to waver. she is absolutely obsessed with how he consistently finds a way to put his foot in his mouth during any conversation, the yin to her yang as maeve’s known for being able to spin a web as quickly and for as long as necessary. their shared need to be validated and praised goes a long way between them because they’re annoyingly nice to each other all the time. they’re those two at the breakroom table talking animatedly about their latest interest or topic they picked up from a podcast/news article/reddit post (toxic masculinity, current politics, feminism, some obscure piece of history or a cryptid of the week, etc). he’s endlessly patient with her and she’s beyond thankful for it. flipside is that she unironically loves listening to him go off on his Woke Rants and gets bullied about it but doesn’t care, she’s there for him through the relationship struggles and does her best to give advice while not stepping over the line (might toe it once or twice but. what can you do, she’s a drama lover). she might have been late because beauty routines but she was also there each step of the way for the union work, besties get it done. maeve sweet talks them and then jonah goes on a righteous rant it’s a win/win.

i think it’s entirely possible she and jonah dated because of how well they get along, but i don’t see it lasting a crazy long time. maybe two, three months at the most (perhaps it’s mostly bc i’m an amy/jonah hoe and they belong together forever but whatever, don’t perceive me). a scenario where they’d both decide it’s better they stay friends and they get away with it without much weirdness, aka maeve’s fine and jonah or the coworkers makes it awkward sometimes before it settles. i do in fact think he’d be the first love interest of maeve’s that i can see her using “baby” as the primary petname because like,,,it’s jonah. you get it. if they dated, she has a photo taken of them from one of their dates taped up in her breakroom locker and it stays up there until she leaves the job bc she adores it so much.

insert bit where maeve makes a threesome joke with her + jonah and amy, and there’s a pause Just long enough with everyone looking between each other that it appears genuine consideration is there but the camera cuts before anything else is said. the world may never know what happened after that

everyone keeps trying to make drama between her and amy because they’re both close to jonah, but i fully believe maeve would adore and respect her far too much to reach any level of rivalry. she’d be in awe of how strong of a woman amy is between raising her children and working her ass off so successfully, and i imagine a lot of their bonding would be maeve persuading her into taking time for herself or them having girls’ nights (whether by themselves or with some of the others).

put the tabby obligated “they have two hands” joke here about maeve/amy/jonah. i haven’t put any thought into if it’d work out or if the other two could be into that sort of relationship but i’m legally and morally obligated to bring it up on the principle that it’s My Thing.

[boozeforblues]

I Want To Melt Your Fucking Soul, You Smug Shit-Monster

Remembering how you thought "medicine" was your name On that Motion City song, the absolute worst claim to fame Carrying around a list of grievances a decade long Recounting your inability to admit you were wrong Like that time you made me walk home from the plaza My fault for leaving the car running, didn't mean to cause a Scene, but it ended in my predictable humiliation I should have known then and there that reconciliation Was off the table, you were off your meds The only thing that should have been in store were grip socks and white Keds Poorly lit underpass and this bargain pocket blade Shunning the sunlight in favor of the limitless shade Ignoring your pleas to have my knees destroyed My fault for thinking it was me who toyed With your emotions, my world was upside down Showed up in a fucking prom dress to escort me about town

Overlooking red flags, putting a ring on instability Paying little mind to my own blatant fragility Recounting tales of me trying to turn your glasses into road rash My first hint to flee was the fact that most of your music was trash But a well placed bite to my inner thigh Left me thinking I had encountered a new high Anything to rouse you from your slumber Making me your excuse for feeling so encumbered But the truth was that you only wanted to play house And I was hitching a ride, a mere mouse Walking in the footprints of elephants, the biggest shoes to fill All these years later, the deepest sense of shame to instill

You went from in love to miserable in twelve short months Bracing for the storms, it's nothing but cold fronts As far as the eye could see, turns out we were both farsighted Like that one time you nearly got me bar fighted The world against us, capricious badge of pride Telling myself that I was only along for the ride But I was left without a safety apparatus Left holding the bag, muttering how you had us At hello; I made my goodbye extra dramatic Seeking votes on our behavior, trying to remain democratic To the process, but our wires crossed far too frequently For us to be considered to be breaking down equally When we both know you took the lead in that department Unironically using me as a reference to secure an apartment Told me to keep the car only to renege months later No longer buying into your bullshit, label me a traitor

You broke me and tossed me a band-aid A naturist blaming me for the horrors that were man-made...

[banditcoyote]

Wrangled and Tangled

Sasuga stood by the sink washing the last of the dishes from tonights meal. She smiled softly to herself as her tail flicked behind her, happy about the sets of cups and plates she had picked out, feeling domesticated and settled looking over the two sets of dishes her and her lover had shared, something about them in the drying rack felt almost romantic to her. But maybe it was just the way the sunset was showing so pink and purple over the water that was making her feel that way, the cool summer breeze blowing in from the open Lanai. She hummed to herself a little as she dried her hand and reached for the first plate, ready to dry them herself, when the dish cloth was plucked out of her hands swiftly.

“Let me take care of that.” Simon said perching himself onto the counter and starting to dry one of their plates.

“All the left overs put away?” she asked leaning against the counters and bringing her wine to her lips.

“Most of them.” he said with a nod. “Except for the second helping I couldn’t resist, which is now residing in my stomach.” ��

She laughed lightly, brushing her hair back behind her ear “Well I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She said with a nod, moving to cozy up to him just a little bit, her eyes full of warmth, and maybe a bit of mischief. “Maybe we can enjoy some other things when you’re done putting those dishes away.” She said with a curl to her lips.

Simon returned the smile and took a moment to lean down to kiss her easily, drawing back with a little hum. “I can think of some things for sure.” He added. “But before we get too distracted.” He placed the clean plate down on the counter and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small ring box and placing it on the counter next to her hand. “Happy Anniversary.”

Sasuga froze at the sight of the small velvet box and her large eyes went wide, slowly looking up into Simon’s face, searching for the meaning.

Simon at once realizing what she might have thought smiled and blushed. “I know we’ve talked about it, but this is just a promise ring.”  Sasuga let go of the breath she was holding with some relief. He picked the box up and opened it. “See?” inside was a thing gold band with a small rose quartz crystal cut into the shape of a heart that side horizontal to the finger. He reached for her left hand and slid it on to her ring finger kissing it into place. “I love you Sasuga, I know that this might not be perfect, but I wanted you to know how much you mean to me.” Sasuga looked to the ring on her finger, feeling tears pull at the corner of her eyes. He hopped down from the counter “Oh no….is it too much? I know we said we weren’t going to do anything, that dinner was enough but-“

She shook her head “Don’t be stupid.” She said choking back her emotions. “I love it. I love you….Thank you.” She looked at the ring again before reaching up to tug on one of his horns pulling him down into a kiss. “Forget the dishes….come on.” She said, her tail already snaking up around his waist to guide him toward their bedroom.

Coyote woke up with a start, staring up into the dark ceiling above him. He contemplated for a moment what that dream could have meant, and his jaw tightened in his face. Did Sasuga sleep with Simon while he was away, it was the only rule he had given. Or maybe that had made the whole thing more enticing for the two of them. Still, why would Sasuga end up with Simon, he had the feeling he was absent, that house not looking familiar to him in the slightest. He closed his eyes again, almost willing it to come back to him, but some of the finer details were already fading from his memory, and all he remembered was the way the pair looked longingly at each other before they kissed. He gave a little growl and pushed himself up quickly to throw on some jeans and a shirt.

“Coyote?” Shishi asked lifting his head from where he was curled up on one of the pillows. “Where are you going?” he asked rubbing one of his eyes sleepily.

“I’m heading back to the Makai” he told Shishi as he pulled his shirt down over his torso.

The imp eyed the view appreciatively before his senses snapped back to him. “Should I be worried?” he asked knowing of Coyote’s sometimes prophetic dreams, and he wondered if he had some type of vision of Sasuga’s fights. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Coyote shook his head. “No. No. It’s nothing like that it’s….” only he wasn’t entirely sure he could begin to really understand it himself. He shook his head “Sasuga’s fine. I just need to see her. I only had that one other show at the end of the week anyway, stay here, I’ll go tell Russell to pack everything up and head on home. You’ll be fine finding a flight right? I mean, stay the night, don’t leave on my account.”

Shishi laughed “Oh it was that kind of dream was it?” he grinned. “Okay, Well, tell her I said hello and get back safely.” He said as he yawned and laid back down to sleep. “I’m sure Kurama and Gatlin will be happy to have me home, if they haven’t torn each other apart yet…”

Coyote slapped on his cowboy hat and grabbed a jacket though he felt his skin burning. “And you remember what we said about this right?” he asked as he headed toward the door.

“My lips are sealed.” Shishi murmured. “Not a word to anyone”

“Especially to Sasuga.” He confirmed hand on the door.

“Especially Sasuga.” Shishi promised “She’d probably be more upset with me than you anyway” and waved him off.

Coyote found himself easily at his ring manager’s trailer, pounding on the door. He felt bad to be waking Russell up like this but he knew he couldn’t just disappear in the middle of the night and leave Shishi to explain for  him, things looked weird enough having him around. Russell answered the door, looking as if he was still blinking back sleep. “Coyote, everything alright?” he asked looking around.

“No…Um no, there was a fire back at the ranch.” He said lying on his feet. Thinking easily of the fire at Thom’s he could use as a cover even if the time line wouldn’t match up. He figured it would never get back to Russell anyways. The manager looked concerned. “It’s nothing big, a small one thank god, no one hurt, but I really should get out there, I know we only have the exhibit at the end of the week so I was just going to head home now. Would that be too much of a pain for ya’ll to handle?”

Russell cleared the sleep from his eyes with his hand “Yeah, yeah I can handle it no problem. Take care, hope it’s as small as you say.” He said and headed back to his bed.

Coyote made one more stop, saying farewell to Poncho in his trailer, before he headed towards the nearest portal in the woods, which was still pretty far, and Coyote had to be careful no one saw him as he slipped into the woods and transformed, having to sprint as fast as he could to reach the portal before daylight. He was glad he had the foresight to try and keep his motorcycle as close to him as possible, as the only other way he could have gotten there was to fly back home and then race to her, and he wasn’t sure he could stand being on a plane the way he was feeling.  All cooped up without being able to run or move, or do anything. It would have been torture, not like the past few weeks hadn’t been. The time away from Sasuga had been harder than he’d like to admit, and he already knew he would never plan on being away from her like this again. All the time away from her he had felt like pulling his skin off. He had helped Thom around her house before he left, and at the rodeo he did more of the manual work than anyone really wanted him to. He ran Poncho as often as he felt he could without causing the poor animal too much strain, and then would run laps as fast as he could as long as he could well into the night. But it was never enough, the women that tried to greet him as soon as he stepped out of the rodeo corral still enticed him to the point he had to nearly run back to his RV. All that hair, perfume, and how the hell where they making such good bras now adays? Though he was sure that some of breasts out there weren’t only held up by a bra but maybe some type of surgery, that didn’t sway him away any. Then the fact that in some of the more populous areas there were actual demon women in the crowds, and those he really had to avoid. He was sure they’d sense something about him, and he was doing his best to be incognito. Luckily his prior years of fooling around with plenty of the women at these things rarely had any of his crew spotting him being social, so now that he was hiding out on his own it went unnoticed. Coyote tried to run himself ragged, exercise, the rodeo, his variety of plants and a few sex toys paired unironically with the body pillow he had snuck on board, none of it had done the exact trick. Which had then led him to call Shishi. It had been a long shot, but it didn’t take much convincing getting him to come out to see him in secret, even if he was a bit miffed at having to mostly stay hidden at the events. Coyote let him have the pass into where the wives or girlfriend’s normally sat, and he posed in his refinery during the events when it fancied him. It had helped tire him out, but he still hadn’t been getting enoug

He thought he could remain out here for the full month, and they had gotten so close, it was almost silly to run now. But after the dream with her and Simon he just couldn’t deny the ache he felt for his mate any longer and he had to find his way back to her. Dawn was just about to break as he reached the portal and he wasted no time heading through it and heading towards where he had hidden his bike. He felt like a dog that had gotten a scent, and he wasn’t going to rest until he got to her. **** Four days later still hours from dawn, Coyote stashed the bike behind the hotel, barely taking care to hide it, and stumbled into the lobby. He had all the faith in the world that Sasuga was still in the tournament, and held the most hope that meant she was still in the hotel room that he had the key stashed for. He limped into the lobby where the clerk paled at the site of him. “Sir….” He said rushing around the desk and towards him. “Do you need a medic?” he asked looking him over.

Coyote didn’t waste the energy to speak to him and only shook his head as he stumbled forward before catching his balance again. He knew what he looked like, but wasn’t stopped as it was clear the clerk in his pristine uniform was afraid to touch him at all.

“Is there someone I can call?” he said walking along side him as Coyote shuffled to the elevator, bracing himself against the lobby wall and causing a smear of blood to press into the wall paper.

Coyote considered it for a moment, but shook his head again. If Sasuga was still in the tournament this late in the game there was a chance she was injured as well, and he wanted her to save her strength for fighting. He’d be okay. He just needed a shower, some stitches, and her.

The clerk did not follow him into the elevator, being the main hotel for the tournament he was surely not the only injured guest they received, and he retreated back to their desk, probably to call for maintenance to clean up whatever other mess Coyote had left behind him. He leaned against the wall as it started it’s ascension toward the upper floors, again leaving a smear of dirt and blood where his shoulder braced himself. A few droplets of blood dripping from somewhere onto the floor. It seemed to take forever for the elevator to reach it’s destination, the doors pausing once as a couple was about to get on, but after seeing him let him go on without a question. Coyote almost passed out, unsure if it was from blood loss or exhaustion, but the dinging and wooshing of the doors riled him, and he staggered out into the hallway. Knowing he was so close to Sasuga spurred him on, and he was relieved to find that the card key still worked. He let himself into the hotel room, finding it dark and quiet and he did his best to move with stealth into the bathroom. He passed the bed and spotted Sasuga sleeping peacefully by herself, he was grateful for this because with the rage that was still somewhat in his veins if he had found Simon with her he might have taken a regrettable action. In that moment iat took everything in him to not simply cover her with himself, though with how dirty he was he knew it would only concern her more. There was blood in his mouth and under his fingernails, matting his hair down and sticking to his hat. Better to clean himself up first, and he shut the bathroom door behind him before turning on the light.

He did his best not to look at himself in the mirror, but finding it a necessity to assess some of the damage. If he had made it this far like this it couldn’t have been too bad. Still he was in rough shape. Not only was his face cut, bruised, and swollen, but he had also lost enough weight that he appeared gaunt under the torn and dirty clothes he wore. He slowly undressed, assessing each wound, fresh bruises forming on top of old ones, some cuts that were still bleeding every time he moved, gashes that would no doubt need to be closed up. He hissed as some of the clothing stuck to him where blood had dried, let his effects fall to the floor, his gun empty and tucked back in his holster, and stepped into the shower letting the water strike at his feet until it was warm enough to step into. He braced himself against the wall, letting it flow over his hair and down his back, feeling the sense of relief start to fill him as well. He had made it, he was close to resting, and he was close to his mate, that was all he could ask for right now.

[notquitecanon]

The Love Hypthetical

For Emergencies Only pt 3

First Prev

Tw: one joke v*mit ment, enough fluff to give you a tooth ache, very melodramatic, matches the vibes of pt 1 better

Beautiful beautiful beautiful boy

There were many mature ways to handle the things that happened. Pretend it never happened, have a mature and earnest conversation, find a new job where you didn’t make out with your boss…. Probably at least a half dozen other perfectly plausible solutions you could come up with if you would give it five minutes of rational thought.

However, rational thought didn’t play well with your current thoughts about Dr. Egan Spengler. Hell, even between your mortification verging on self loathing, you couldn’t help the burning tips of your ears nor the dopey grin that would twist up when you thought about either kiss you shared. Just the very fact there was more than one to think about almost made you forget the scientist had not shown any meaningful interest before or after either kiss, truly hadn’t spent any time with you since before the first one. At the very least, you had stopped attaching meaning to all the little things you used to think might mean he saw you in a different light than he did.

So, to hell with being mature. You not only worked for men who unironically called themselves ‘ghostbusters’ but also had pretended to date the resident reclusive scientist on not one, but two occasions that both resulted in borderline vulgar make out sessions. Mature had plummeted off the Statue of Liberty and sank to the bottom of the bay.

This was all the long winded justification you used to reinforce your quick tempered decision to call in for the next day. Left a voicemail so neither Janine nor Peter could question you too severely. You didn’t think you could face them at work the next day. After all, you doubted you’d get much sleep.

You didn’t sleep. Not a wink. When you closed your eyes, the incident at the club wouldn’t stop looping though your head. And when they were open, it was like the kiss at the firehouse was projected onto your ceiling like a movie with no emergency exits.

And yet when you rolled over and stifled your frustrated groan into your pillow, all your brain could show you were replays of that woman toying with the zipper on Egon’s jumpsuit and snippets of him not so subtlety avoiding and evading you for the past week and a half.

In all your self pity, loathing, and wallowing, you missed the first round of rapt knocks on your door. The second round, however, did pierce through your angst and your pillow. You snapped the pillow to your side, eye brows furrowed as you threw your blankets off- you were uncomfortably warm anyways. Swinging your legs over the side of the bed, you slid your feet into your favorite fluffy slippers, listening for another moment.

Another round of knocks came as you slowly stood, checking the clock on your night stand- 2:21 AM.

“(Y/N), I heard your voicemail I know your home and my estimation is that your still awake.”

Nope.

You couldn’t even bring yourself to feel childish as you dove back under the covers with a strangled yelp. His deductions be damned. It didn’t matter if it was Egon, a Supreme Court judge, the Queen of England, Jesus, Gozer, or any other God for that matter…

If anyone was to ask, you weren’t home. you were asleep. Better yet both- asleep some where that wasn’t the apartment that Egon was currently standing outside of. You thought holding the blanket over your face.

"(Y/N), I can hear the bed’s springboard from here. These apartments are former tenements with extremely thin walls."

How could you forget that?! You scolded yourself as you went rigidly still- your bed rewarded you with a spiteful squeak. Due to your dangerously thin walls- a fire hazard, honestly- you heard the man sigh.

"I believe its far past time for us to have a conversation," He called through your door and your stomach dropped. Oh God, he was firing you, or worse ,"(Y/N), I understand if you don’t want to engage with me, but I hope you’ll at least listen to me."

It would seem you didn’t have much choice. You peeked your head to from the blanket as Egon paused for a moment, clearly waiting for a response. When he didn’t get one, he continued.

"It appears that we- I- have made a mess things in my endeavor to further understand yours and my own emotions and instincts, " He started, voice uncharacteristically earnest. Slowly, you sat up, letting the blankets pool around your waist. Maybe you weren’t getting fired.

"I have valued intelligence and intellect over all other attributes and values, often because I find that I interact differently with the word than my peers, emote differently… feel differently than my peers. I’ve always known this and never has it truly bothered me, perhaps its the reason I never took time to familiarize myself with certain social rituals." He admitted, for the first time since you’ve known him, struggling to find the right words.

This level of vulnerability, of open honesty, was new- enticing as it was nerve wracking . Egon never lied and was always serious, but that didn’t mean he always showed all his cards. Maybe that’s why you couldn’t help yourself, just as slowly you slipped off the bed, creeping through your bedroom and living room. This time, you carefully and mindfully avoided every squeaky floor board and groaning doorway. As if if he knew you were listening he might withdraw again.

"I didn’t deem them of note, or substance, so when…." Egon trailed off again, his shadow under the door shifted, clearly uncomfortable, nervous you decided "When I met you, despite my extensive knowledge of psychology, none of it prepared me for field experience. None of my theories or hypotheticals had prepared me for when it was me who experienced them."

When he met you? You mouthed the word in repetition, eye brows knitted up, sneaking so close that you could press your cheek to the door, plans splayed beside you turned head, as if sheer proximity would allow the words to soak in.

Judging by his shadow and the volume of his muffled voice, he was just as close, probably having to turn his head so his nose wouldn’t brush the wood.

"So I pulled back to the familiar, observing, hypothesizing, watching how you interacted with me and adjusting my variables accordingly, how I reacted to your actions," Egon paused again to take a deep breath, all this self reflection was taxing, "so much so that sometimes, often times, I forgot to feel and experience them for myself."

He paused for another moment, chuckling lowly, you weren’t sure if it was for your benefit or his, but he tried a joke, "Peter has always said I’m too far in my head, that one day something was going to hit me in the face and I wouldn’t notice it. I never thought that was possible until I met you."

You snickered silently at the joke, leaning more against the door- even without realizing you yearned to be close to him. Another beat of silence- you hadn’t realized how anxious this had made you until in his silence you could hear and feel you heartbeat filling up the pause. So loud you worried Egon could hear it, never the less he continued, his voice softer this time.

"I never envied Venkman’s people skills, or even Ray’s emotional depth… until I met you."

You tried to temper your tiny gasp as more clues fell into place, eyes threatening to get misty. If Egon noticed, he didn’t comment instead sighing again, seeming to steel himself.

"I knew from the moment I met you, I felt differently about you- even beyond the basic biological responses. I’ve tried to keep a scientific mind, but for the first time I couldn’t. And beyond that, I didn’t quite know what to do or how to go about those- these- feelings. I confess, I still don’t."

The went quiet again. You wanted to pry more words out of him to still you shaking hands, brain whirling with all these confessions but he wasn’t done. You were surprised you could still hear him over the your pounding heart that had somehow taken residence in you chest, throat, ears, stomach as well as other places simultaneously.

"I have come to realize why- why I enjoy physical contact with you when it irks me from others, why I worked my schedule around spending time with you, why I appreciate when you go out of your way for me or wait to eat with me, why I didn’t want to pretend to be your partner." He listed, you could almost hear the soft smile in his voice. He paused one last time.

"(Y/N), I-"

You couldn’t bear it any longer. The butterflies in your stomach had undergone evolution or maybe mutation- you weren’t quiet sure the scientific term, maybe you’d ask Egon later. At the very least, they all learned a unanimous Irish gig to stomp around with. Your palms were sweaty against the splintering wood, stomach doing flips, knees jelly, head spinning and racing- if you didn’t see him right that moment, you very well might exploded, or on a lesser scale at least throw up.

So, you swung the door open with such force that you almost fell over trying to land yourself back in front of him. Egon had startled at the sudden action, wide eyed and breathless as he took in your sudden appearance. You noticed he wasn’t in his jumpsuit from earlier, instead he had traded it out for his typical day wear despite it being well into the early hours of the morning. Though, he wasn’t wearing his coat- uncharacteristic of him to not be prepared, had his decision to come here been so hasty?

With the same scrutiny, he observed your matching satin pajamas (a self indulgent choice on your part for your planned night of wallowing), unable to stop the slight smirk at your fluffy slipper clad feet.

So consumed in the overwhelming urge to see him, you hadn’t spared a thought to what you might say after his very well executed admission. And now, without the door separating you, you stood so close that even looking up at him it was through your lashes. All you managed was little more than a whisper, barely a squeak, "…Hi."

Almost as mindlessly, with an out of character grin goofy, he responded in his deep baritone, "Hello."

His own voice seemed to remind him while he was here, he nodded mostly to himself as he took a deep breath, holding your gaze.

"After months, I’ve come to the conclusion that I am in love with you."

You felt jubilant- and maybe a bit faint- so you braced yourself against the door frame as you smiled up at him. He was watching you with wide eyes, arched brows, chin dipped down to meet your face. For once, unsure of himself.

"And if my hypothesis is correct…" He trailed off, nodding down to you, "(Y/N), can I kiss you?"

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation or perhaps the week a half of self doubt you’d put yourself through, but despite the confession- reassuring your feelings had always been reciprocated- you couldn’t stop the crinkle of your eyebrows. Both of your other kisses had a purpose, a reason… an act to hold up. But now that no one was watching, you couldn’t stifle the question that slipped from your lips.

"What for?"

Egon’s own eyebrow broke their arch to furrow before he caught your meaning. He was sincere as he used the tips of his fingers to brush yours.

"Well, my theory is that if I love you, and you feel the same way-"

"I do." You didn’t mean to say it out loud, especially accompanied by the frantic nodding, so you tried to recover by adding a slightly less chaotic, "feel the same way, that is."

Egon just smiled again, comparing his long fingers to you smaller ones before lacing them as he continued his theory.

"-Then I don’t require a reason to want to kiss you. Provided of course-"

You couldn’t help it, you cut him off again- a rather rude habit you were developing. It didn’t matter, he loved you. This time you interrupted by pulling his lips quickly down to yours as you tugged him inside, he just barely managed to push the door shut before you had all but collapsed the to of you onto your couch- all the while managing not to separate, brilliant teamwork if you did say so yourself.

While your lips moved in tandem, hands were wandering, exploring each other- hair, faces,shoulders, back, waist legs… This kiss, not for anyone else’s eyes, was solely for the two of you. Fingers tangled in his surprisingly soft curls, you repeated your earlier discovery, tugging on the longer bits to further deepen the kiss. Once again, he groaned, almost a growl you realized, audible this time without music blaring to drown it out. It was one thing to feel the reverberation but In combination with the delicious sound the scientist made….

It lit a fire in you, made you greedy- you wanted to pull more of those sounds from him just to see if you could. With your newfound greed, you decided that you werne’t near close enough- despite having his tongue in your mouth. So you pulled yourself from between his legs to be all but on top of him, knees straddling his waist, so he had to tip his head back and you, yours, downward.

At this position, Egon had little choice but to rest hands on your waist so you didn’t topple the two of you over. He wasn’t quite sure he trusted the structural integrity of your sofa. Your hands, however, had the freedom to wander- nails trailing across his scalp, down his neck, across his broad shoulders, and then back around to hold his face.

After finding proper balance, he allowed his hands to trail almost devastatingly slowly from your waist down your sides before landing on the plush back side of your thighs. You gasped at the sudden squeeze of the tender flesh.

Egon grinned against your lip, delighted with that new discovery but decided that compared to your rapid heartbeat that you weren’t getting nearly enough oxygen, so he took the opportunity to pull away- chuckling when you pouted and collapsed back on the sofa.

As usual, he gave you is signature look of observation- noting your kiss swollen lips, flush face, heaving chest, clothes askew. His eyes were dark, appreciative yet still soft. Carefully- amusing since he had just made out with you for the third time- he took you hands in his, pressing a gentle, chaste kiss across your knuckles as you just stared back at him starry eyed.

“(Y/N), I have no use for any more games or false pretenses. I have a lot to learn about romantic pursuits, but it was you who made me want- crave- that knowledge. If you’ll have me, of course.”

He made it sound like such a burden, you giggled, scooting a little closer again so you could press a much more calm kiss to his cheek before resting your forehead against his. His glasses pressed uncomfortably into your face which only made you smile more, “Egon, I’ve liked you since I met you and after that first kiss, I’m pretty sure I went head over heels”

You pulled back pretending to think about it for a moment, “which, I believe, with both our feelings reciprocated and acknowledged, officially labels us an ‘item’ as they say.”

The scientist nodded for a moment as if mentally going through his checklist before oh so seriously answering, “I concur.”

“In that case,” you started rather innocently, smoothing over the wrinkles your desperate wandering hands had put into his shirt earlier, “There are many things we could do for no other reason than we just because we want to. And considering I’ve already called in to work tomorrow and you’re my boss…”

You trailed off again smiling as he chuckled, pretending to think over the offer before startling you, quickly pulling you to your feet, leading you off back towards your bedroom with a mischievous grin.

“I concur.”

___

And fin, a trilogy complete. Just two idiots in love who can make out whenever they want

Anyways tagging ppl I think care: @thegeekisheere @maraudermap000 @mzing14 @fanfictionedagain @egonspenglersweetie @nadja-antipaxos @egon-spenglers-glasses @twinkiethievery @enbyoddity

[sobsicles]

claire's not expecting them to be at the door. she blinks at the sight of four men all huddled on the stoop with flowers and what appears to be bags of food flowing from their arms. jack is peeking above a bouquet, beaming at her.

"who's at the door?!" jody calls from the kitchen, her voice muffled by the sound of grease popping and the clanking of pans and spatulas meeting over and over.

"god," claire calls back, because she likes to think she's funny.

there's a beat of silence, and then jody's sticking her head out the kitchen. the moment she sees them, she breaks out into a grin and saunters over, shoving the spatula in claire's hand as she chatters away.

"what's going on out there?" donna asks as claire escapes back to the kitchen to poke at food jody is apparently willing to burn just because the winchesters decided to show their faces today of all days.

"judgement day," claire says dryly.

donna shares a look with patience. "haven't we dealt with that already a few times?"

"only by association," claire admits, "but i wouldn't put it past them to bring it along with 'em now. the boys are here."

"oh, isn't that nice?" donna chirps, already popping up from her chair. "i didn't know they were stopping by today."

"wonder how sam's doing," patience agrees, wandering out the kitchen right along with donna. claire can hear everyone cracking up and talking in the living room.

trust the winchesters to shake things up just by showing up. can't have one goddamn day, can they? well, that's not true. in their case, as far as claire is concerned, they're shitty for showing up and shitty for not. someone has to knock 'em all down a peg or two, so she might as well be the one.

"what did that chicken ever do to you?" kaia asks teasingly as she sidles into the kitchen and stops by the stove, hip-checking claire out of the way to take over.

"the boys are here," claire informs her.

kaia raises her eyebrows. "like, the boys as in the winchesters, or is this a milkshake pun?"

"i can only be so gay, sweetheart," claire says, shooting her a flat look.

"raise the bar a little. could be gayer. you can always be gayer," kaia teases, reaching out to sneak her hand around claire's hip, her eyes bright with amusement.

"you know what? you're right," claire agrees and immediately tries to cop a feel while kaia laughs and dances out of range.

jack appears in the doorway. "hello," he says, whispering for some reason. "claire, i need your help."

"no," claire says, not even glancing at him. she continues to try and put her hand up kaia's shirt, just to see her laugh.

"can i borrow twenty dollars?" jack asks.

"no. aren't you god?"

"yes, but i don't get paid to be."

"well, sucks for you. borrow money from cas," claire mutters, settling in behind kaia as she focuses on the food on the stove, swatting lazily at claire's roaming hands.

"he'll just borrow money from dean."

"borrow from sam."

"he'll just borrow money from dean."

"borrow from—wait, why does it matter if it's from dean? just borrow from him."

jack huffs. "i can't. i need the money for dean. i have a card, and i read online it's customary to give money with a card. also, will you sign it?"

"you got dean a card?" claire asks, craning her head around to stare at jack skeptically.

"yes."

"don't tell me it's for what i think it is."

"mother's day," jack confirms unironically.

claire wheezes out a laugh. "oh my god."

"there's a pen in the catty on the fridge," kaia says, clearly amused.

"yeah. yeah, this is—yeah." claire chokes on more laughter and stumbles towards the group of pens in the magnet container on the fridge. she waggles her fingers at jack, clearing her throat, lips twitching. "hand it over, beanstalk. you're a fucking genius."

"oh! thank you," jack declares cheerfully, passing over the card. "so, can i borrow twenty dollars?"

"hell no," claire says. she braces the card against the fridge and swallows down a laugh. sam has already signed it. this just gets better and better. happy mother's day, old man, aka the secondary source of my mommy and daddy issues. you're going for gold with this double-whammy, she writes.

"but i need it," jack insists, staring at her with wide eyes.

claire shrugs. "tough break, kid. what, cas doesn't give you an allowance? is it just me, or are dads getting stricter these days?"

"i didn't think about it in advance," jack admits sadly. "i want to do it right for the holiday. it's mother's day, claire."

"i'm well aware. sorry to break it to you, kid, but last I checked, your mom's as dead as mine," claire tells him, her voice flat. he frowns and she forces herself not to feel bad. everything that sucks for him sucked for her first, so her sympathy levels are a little drained. "father's day will roll around eventually, and you've got a long line of those, so wait your turn."

"i've already done something for my mother today," jack says slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. "i visited her in heaven."

claire snorts derisively and passes the card back over. "must be nice."

"it was," jack agrees, completely missing the point. "i really can't borrow twenty dollars? i'll pay you back."

"nah," claire says. "who cares anyway? wait, why is dean the mom?"

"well, castiel is my father."

"ah, so it's about them having the hots for each other, then? really, kid, you coulda just made dean your step-dad."

jack blinks. "they have the...hots for each other? you mean sex. they have sex?"

"you know what?" claire points at him with her free hand. "i'm not gonna burst your bubble on that one. you've got enough issues on your own without wondering if mommy and daddy still have a spark, so I'm gonna leave that alone. i've got five dollars. take it or leave it."

"deal," jack says immediately.

money is exchanged, and jack looks like he's on cloud nine. claire's just stoked to see the expression on dean's face when he gets the card. it's a homemade card and everything, nothing like the two claire, kaia, patience, and alex got for jody and donna.

claire helps kaia finish up the chicken, which promptly gets set aside to wait on the rest of the food in the oven. sam wanders in at some point to drop off the food they brought. dessert, by the looks of it. pies and cakes that go in the fridge. it's kind of them, but claire would shoot herself in the foot before she ever admits it.

she lets kaia tug her into the living room where everyone is already at, rolling her eyes at how cheered everyone seems just because the winchesters happened to grace their doorstep. really, they all suck.

but also—and claire will never admit this, not even to save her own life—it's nice to see 'em again. it's nice that they've come to celebrate the day in jody and donna's name, giving them flowers and such. it's nice that they hang around for a bit and don't bring the world crashing down on everyone for the duration of their stay.

and, well, it's nice to see cas, too.

he perches up next to the couch that claire is squeezed on with alex, donna, kaia, and jack. kaia is practically in her lap, but claire is secretly glad for the excuse. while everyone talks and has conversations across one another, cas focuses entirely on her.

another thing claire will never admit is how reluctantly pleased by that she is. it warms her. stupidly, it turns soft and gooey in her chest that he automatically gives her his undivided attention over everyone else, even jack. but, then again, it's not cas' day, so she doesn't have to look too close to that feeling. it's mother's day, so it's not about him.

when the food is ready, they reconvene in the kitchen, and that's when they crack out the cards and gifts. claire is practically vibrating with laughter before jack has even brought his card out. before that, though, she smiles softly and strokes kaia's thigh under the table as jody and donna read their cards and chuckle at the messages, their gazes warm and their smiles sweet. they look happy. they deserve to be.

"okay, last one," claire announces, grinning at jack. she's starting to think she likes this kid if he's an agent of chaos like this.

and okay, maybe she hates him a little in abstract, but in detail, she finds that she does actually like him. you kinda just wanna put him in your pocket without meaning to, she's learned. there's too much to explore with the whole psuedo sibling thing and parents that aren't parents, as well as parents that are but didn't choose to be, only he did choose one of them, and it wasn't her. it's complicated, but underneath it all, there's a vibrant love there that she can't look directly at. sometimes, she despises that she's included in it; yet, just the same, she's thankful that she is.

"oh hell," dean mutters, swinging his gaze between alex and patience. "one of you...ya know? did we miss something?"

claire snorts.

"what? no," alex replies, grimacing. "i have no idea what claire's talking about. claire, what the hell are you talking about?"

"jack?" claire prompts in a wheeze.

"here you go," jack chirps, holding out the card to dean, beaming. "happy mother's day."

the expression on dean's face is somehow even better than claire imagined. she howls with laughter while sam buries his face in his hands, his shoulders jerking. cas squints at jack, and jody's eyebrows fly up at the same exact time that donna grins.

"is this a joke?" dean sputters.

"no, no, nope," claire chokes out, nearly fucking crying with laughter. "happy mother's day, dean."

"you gotta take it, man," sam agrees, clearing his throat and biting back a smile as he bobs his head dutifully towards the card.

dean fixes sam with a flat look and snatches the card. "you're all so fucking—sam, you signed it?!"

"happy mother's day," sam says, his mouth pinched, visibly trying not to laugh.

"do you like it?" jack asks earnestly. "i made the card, sam signed it first, and claire provided the money."

"i—" dean stares down at the card, then heaves a sigh and looks up at jack. it's clear to him that—out of everyone—jack is clearly taking this very seriously. he offers him a weak smile, then swallows. "yeah, s'great, kid. thank you. sam, you are dead to me. claire, i will be spending this on something you hate. cas, this is somehow your fault."

"yup, sounds like a mother to me," jody declares, holding up her beer with a smile.

"welcome to the club," donna agrees, holding hers up as well. "everyone else annoys the shit out of you, but you love 'em anyway."

dean sighs and clinks his beer to theirs.

[nonobadcat]

YANDERE ALL FOR ONE X FEMALE READER

Rating: For readers 18+ only

Entire Story TW: Noncon/DubCon, gore (non-reader directed), numerous kinks. Highly mentally and sexually abusive relationship. This story is absolutely not for minors and readers should consult the warnings/tags at the top before reading.

This chapter’s TW: Dub-Con Oral, mentions of past trauma, AFO calls himself “daddy” unironically

Read the entire story at: Archive of Our Own

Chapter 55 Excerpt:

The plush nylon carpet beneath your body made your skin itch. Hands clamped over your ears, you curled your knees into your chest and wedged yourself against the closet wall. Eyes tight shut, your teeth chattered as you tried not to listen to the conversation in the bedroom. All For One’s cheerful glee refused to give you peace. It cut through your head like an arrow to the heart.

“It’s hard to say for certain, doctor. The ‘Read Ability’ quirk said that she drew out a triple the hours she gave, but the aging process seemed very excessive for that amount. The patch that turned grey was nearly two by two centimeters!”

So you could give sleep in hours, but you were stealing life days? What kind of monster had he made you?

“I’ll take her out shopping this weekend to see if the passive effect is still in play. Hopefully so. Frankly, I’m unwilling to share her touch with others.”

Things that shock no one: A man named “All For One” doesn’t like to share.

“Of course I’ll keep you updated. I called you right when I got home, didn’t I?”

Dang near bounced off to do it too. Those two talked more than a bunch of high school gossips.

“Take care and let me know when you get the tanks set up.”

Hope you drown in them you stupid little troll.

The clatter of plastic on the nightstand was followed by the ruffling of soft fibers. A shadow fell over your balled-up body. There was a low hum from your villainous husband. Long legs and big feet came to a standstill by your side. A warm hand reached out and shook your shoulder. You wrenched it out of his fingers and buried your chin in your neck.

“Come now, my dear. Are you still in a mood?”

You gritted your teeth and refused to look at him.

Your husband took a seat beside you, toying with the clasp on your necklace. Hot breath whispered over the shell of your ear. “Why don’t we pick up where we left off in the car?” His hand trailed down your neck, slipping along the side of your body. “As I recall you asked me to 'eat you, scumbag'.” He grinned. “I don’t believe we ever got that far.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re clearly angry.” He hoisted you against his chest.

"Gee, can't imagine why," you muttered.

In his lap, a firm bulge pressed against your backside. “Let me cheer you up,” he murmured, nibbling at your neck.

"You just made me into a life-stealing monster." You pressed your palm flat into his face, bending his pointed nose as you shoved him off your throat. "Do you really think that turns me on?"

"It turns me on," he mumbled into your skin.

…great. Of course it did.

"Leave." Shove. "Me." Shove. "Alone!"

Thick arms locked tight around your ribs. "You don't mean that," he teased, grinning his fangs into your neck.

"Like heck I don't!" You fired back.

He tickled his way along your chest, tracing circles into your shirt. "I know you're upset now but give it time" he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. "Once you realize what a gift I gave you, you'll feel better."

Read the rest at: Archive of Our Own

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